Sonic Legends
by Adrian T. Starke
Summary: AU Sonic finds that he had somehow skipped over 12 years, and that Robotnik has taken over the planet. Takes place in an Archie/SatAM, universe that also has elements of the games and Fleetway Comics.
1. Empire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog**

**Sonic Legends**

**Chapter 1: Empire**

Bernard Maurice Hedgehog found himself in the middle of a ruined city. There was pounding in his head as he woke up and slowly picked himself up from his prone position. He tried to remember what had happened, but his head hurt too much to think about it. Finding no other choice, he picked a direction and started to walk. After a few minutes of this, he entered a dilapidated building to see if he could find out where he was. Though, the attempt was fruitless. It seemed anything that could have held information about his situation had been destroyed. Kicking a chair in frustration, the hedgehog noticed something off. He searched the building for a mirror. When he found one, he found something a little disturbing. His normally brown fur had turned blue.

* * *

Bernie finally managed to get out of the city, his mind still racing about what had happened. The last thing he knew was that he was fighting a fat bald man in a robot. He'd managed to disable the robot, but it managed to fire off a missile and then... nothing. He woke up in a wrecked city and his fur had turned blue.

The environment outside of the city didn't look any better than the city itself. The little grass there was was yellow and dried up. There was what seemed to be a road leading away from the city. Seeing no other real option, Bernie took off at blinding speeds toward the end of the road.

After a couple minutes, the hedgehog eventually came to a small town. Really, it seemed more like a slum. Perhaps he would finally get some answers. He found a newspaper vendor and tried to get one, just to realize he didn't have any money. All he saw was the front page: Robotropolis Dispatch...

"Robotropolis?" he muttered to himself.

"Yeah, Robotropolis," a said a voice from behind him. It was a male skunk, and he seemed to have a bit of an ego.

"And, what exactly is that?"

"Blimey, you been livin' under a rock? Mobotropolis was renamed Robotropolis after the coup."

"Wait, what coup?"

"Honestly, don't you know anything? Twelve years ago, Dr. Ivo Robotnik staged a coup against King Acorn, and basically took over the bloody planet. Apparently he started off by blowin' up some hedgehog or som'ing There ain't a place in the world that wasn't affected by the coup."

Bernie could hardly believe what he was hearing. Robotnik... the man he was fighting. How could he have taken over the planet? And another nagging question soon popped into his mind.

"What year is it?" he asked.

"Are you serious? It's 3237! Where the bloody hell have you been?"

"... I honestly don't know."

"Who are you, anyway?"

Bernie had to think about that. It wasn't that he had forgotten, but rather that it would be suspicious if a hedgehog that's been "dead" for twelve years suddenly reappeared. It only took a couple of seconds to come up with a name form himself.

"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Sonic? Sounds made up."

"Well that's my name. Got a problem with it?"

"Whatever."

Without warning, a large robot with black armor and red cycloptic visor came up to them. It seemed to be some kind of police robot.

"ATTENTION CITIZENS, YOU HAVE BEEN IDOLING FOR APPROXIMATELY 4 MINUTES, 36 SECONDS. FAILURE TO REMOVE YOURSELVES FROM THIS LOCATION WILL RESULT IN VIOLATION OF LOITERING LAWS.

Bernie, or rather Sonic, spoke up. "Is this guy serious? We were just having a conversation."

"Shut up and move, hedgehog. You wanna get the SWATbots on us?" the skunk chided.

"FALIURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE ARREST."

The robot shot a wide scanning laser him and the skunk. After a few seconds, the robot continued to speak.

"SUBJECT 1: GEOFFRY ST. JOHN. REPEAT OFFENDER, CURRENTLY ON PROBATION FOR POSSESSION OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS. SUBJECT 2: IDENTITY UNKNOWN. CITIZEN CHIP NOT PRESENT. ENGAGING ARREST PROTOCALS."

"Oh no, I didn't come all this way just to get arrested!" With that, Sonic leaped at the SWATbot, curling into tight ball, and tore right through the robot, sending it crashing to the ground.

"What in bloody hell did you just do?!" Geoffry yelled.

"I just saved our butts from gettin' arrested. Your welcome," replied sonic.

"There's gonna be more of 'em soon, you idiot! We need to get out of here now!"

"Right. How fast can you run?"

"I can clear a hundred meters in..."

"Not fast enough." Sonic suddenly grabs Geoffry around the waist and starts running. The SWATbots didn't even have a chance to give chase, as they were out of the town within seconds.

* * *

Sonic continued to run for several minutes to ensure that they were a good distance away. After stopping, Geoffry was left flabbergasted at what had just happened.

"How in bloody hell did you do that?! You pulled ninety, a hundred miles an hour easy, and you don't even look winded!" he raved.

"That was nothing. I can break the sound barrier easy at top speed," replied Sonic.

"Alright, just who and what are you?"

"That's really not important right now. I've been, out of the loop for the past twelve years. I need some answers. First off, what happened to the royal family?"

"Well, the queen is missing, and the king was banished into some alternate dimension."

"What about the princess?"

"Well, rumor has it that she's leading some kind of resistance group. No-one knows where they're based, not even Robotnik. They've been throwing a wrench in blighter's operations, but they haven't been able to do any lasting damage."

A resistance, led by the princess no less. It was a long shot, but he had to take it. Finding the resistance wasn't going to be easy. If the guy in charge of the planet couldn't find them, how could he?

"Alright, do you have any idea where they could be?" Sonic asked.

"Well, there are rumors that they're stationed somewhere in the Great Forest. Just rumors though. You could just be walkin' in to disappointment, mate."

"I'll worry about that." Sonic starts to head off, but stops to ask one more question. "I can tell you have no love for Robotnik's regime. You wanna come with me?"

There was a brief silence as Geoffry thought about his answer. "Sorry, mate. I've got an obligation to that town. I'm needed more there than with the resistance."

"I understand. You need a ride back?"

"Naw, I'll manage. They'll be lookin' for me for a while anyway."

"Alright. Good luck."

"Yeah, you too, mate."

* * *

The plains bordering the Great Forest were a short run away (for Sonic anyway). When he finally got there, he could see what had become of the once proud city of Mobotropolis. The bright, thriving metropolis, had become a dark, polluted blight. Plums of smoke rose from the city's factories, enough to totally block out the sun. Where the royal castle had been, there was now a large fortress like building rising above the rest of Robotropolis. The sight of it made Sonic sick to his stomach. He had to look away.

Sonic was about to enter the forest. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once he did. The forest was huge, and even with his speed, he could be searching for days and not find anything. Add to the fact that it was only a rumor that the resistance was in based somewhere in the forest. However, he really didn't see any other option at that point.

As he was about to start his search, Sonic spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Turning his full attention on it, he saw at least ten SWATbots surrounding someone. There were two Mobians. One was a purple walrus with a cap and shoulder belt. The second was a little more out of the ordinary. It was a fox, that had two tails.

The bots were closing in on them, their weapons drawn and charged. He had to do something. Sonic charged at the SWATbots. Before they could even register that he had even come on to the scene, on the of the robots was torn to pieces. The rest of them turned their attention to the hedgehog, failing to even spot him until it was too late. The blue blur brought them down with ease. The two Mobians just stared in awe of what had just happened. After a few moments of silence, Sonic asked if they were alright.

"You guys alright?"

"Uh... yeah," replied the walrus.

"Who are you?" asked the fox.

"Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog."

"Hmm... Sounds made up." the walrus pointed out.

"Yeah, I get that."

"I'm Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails."

"Heh, I can see why."

"And I'm Rotor Walrus. That was amazing! You were moving so fast, you were almost invisible!"

"Those bots would have wasted us for sure if you hadn't shown up." Tails piped in.

"Hey, it was no biggie. Robotnik needs to be taken down. I have to find the resistance and see if I can give 'em a hand."

Tails and Rotor perked up at the hedgehog's words. He wanted to bring down Robotnik.

"You're looking for the Freedom Fighters!" exclaimed Tails.

"You guys know about 'em?" Sonic asked.

Rotor give a grin and said, "As a matter of fact, you're talking to some."

Sonic couldn't believe his luck. Without even really trying, he had found the resistance. He found the Freedom Fighters.

A/N: Just to clarify a few things, the SWATbots in this story are based on the ones seen in Sonic Chronicles, and Robotnik/Eggman is based on the 2006 version.


	2. Freedom Fighters

**Chapter 2: Freedom Fighters**

Rotor and Tails led Sonic through the forest. The path they took was long and winding, presumably to remove the possibility of being followed. The Great Forest. It was still lush with plant life and the trees were healthy. The sun shown through the leaves, leaving patchy rays of light on the ground. He could hear birds happily chirping without a care in the world. This place, for whatever reason, was left untouched by Robotnik's empire. It was a nice change from the post-apocalyptic look of everywhere else he'd been.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of the stump of an oak tree. Sonic was about to say something a bit snarky, but was cut off when Tails kicked it in several places, and the top of the stump opened up, revealing a hidden entrance. Rotor went down first, followed by Tails. Looking down the stump, Sonic found that it led to some kind of slide. He gave a shrug, and jumped in.

The slide brought him down into a cavern that seemed to be mostly made out of limestone. Rotor and Tails were waiting for him at the mouth of the cave. He followed them out, and almost immediately saw where they were leading him. A village, hidden deep within the forest. He half expected it to just be a bunch of fanatics, or at least a small group of disorganized rebels. This wasn't the case at all. It was a fairly large village, consisting of tree houses, huts, and small public buildings. By the look of it, the village seemed to be rather tightly knit. It appeared easily navigable and the tree houses had bridges connecting them.

In the center of the village was a huge tree. Part of the base had been semi-hollowed out, and even with this it looked like the tree could still stand up to a hurricane. A rather large tree house was built into it. The main headquarters, Sonic figured. This also seemed to be his destination. Rotor and Tails brought him to the base of the tree, where there is a platform. Rotor gave a signal with his hand, and the platform was hoisted up buy a pulley system, powered by an electric generator. As they went up, Sonic couldn't help but give an impressed whistle.

"Man, this is somethin' else. I would've never guessed it be so... big," said Sonic.

"It's made up of some of the people who managed to escape from Mobotropolis when the coup happened," explained Rotor.

"And ever since that day, we've been building. Though I don't really remember much. I was only a year old when it happened," Tails added. The kid was only thirteen and he was basically fighting a war.

The reached the top, and entered the main structure of the HQ. When he stepped inside, the woodsy feel of the village was left behind. Inside was an array of computers, radar screens, and other such equipment. It certainly looked like a proper headquarters.

They were 'greeted' by a coyote wearing a kind of French uniform. "Who is zis?" he said with a heavy French accent.

"We found outside the forest..." Rotor started.

"And you brought heem here? You fu'els! You have no idea who he is! He could be a spy!" the Coyote fumed.

"He saved us from a bunch of SWATbots! He took 'em down like they were toys," Tails declared. Though this didn't seem to put him more at ease.

"'Ow do you know zat was not a part of his plan?" he questioned.

"That'll be all, Antoine. I'll speak with him, alone," said a voice from behind them. Sonic turned and laid eyes on a female squirrel. Brown fur, auburn hair, and blue eyes. Unmistakable blue eyes.

"I'll bee keepeeng an eye on you, 'edeghog," Antoine threatened. With that, the three left Sonic alone with the squirrel. She shut the door, ensuring that they had privacy. Shooting him an apprehensive look, she addressed him.

"Who are you?" She asked.

There is a brief pause. Sonic had just met her, yet he was absolutely positive he knew who she was. The eyes gave her away immediately. Part of him wanted to tell her his real name, but settled for giving his new moniker.

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Sounds made up."

"Yeah, I know."

"What did you hope to gain in coming here?"

"Well, I figured I'd help free the planet from the megalomaniac despot in charge."

"Give one good reason I should even trust you."

"I remember what it was like before the coup. Peaceful, friendly, no war. But now, this Robotnik guy ruined all of that. I want to help take back our world."

"Then why didn't you join us 12 years ago? A group of us fled into the forest to escape Robotnik and his robots. I was only five when I came here. You could have done the same."

He hadn't thought of that. He should have known she would ask something like that. He had to think of an excuse fast.

"I'm not from Mobotropolis. I had no idea that this place even existed," Sonic explained. That last part was truthful. Not being from Mobotropolis though was a lie.

"I see. Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But before I can allow you to officially join the Freedom Fighters, you're going to have to prove yourself trustworthy," she stated.

"Fair enough."

"Well, I should introduce myself then. My name is Sally Alicia Acorn. I'm the one in charge of the Freedom Fighters."

A voice came from outside, one with a Southern Belle accent, asking to come in. Sally gave the okay, and a female rabbit stepped in. She had pale yellow fur, a white muzzle, green eyes, and wore a brown leather jacket and a cowboy hat. However, those features weren't the first thing Sonic noticed about her. No, what he noticed first thoroughly disturbed him. Her left arm, legs, and part of her waist were machines. He managed to keep his mouth shut about this as the rabbit addressed Sally.

"Looks like there's a bunch of SWATbots on patrol on west side of the forest," she said.

"Just keep an eye on them for now, Bunnie. We don't want to get Robotnik too suspicious of the forest and give him reason to raze it to the ground."

"Got it." Bunnie notices Sonic looking at her, but just gave a smile and said, "Hey, Sugah. You new?"

"Well, um..."

"He's on trial status," Sally said.

"Well, ah hope he's up ta snuff. He's kinda cute."

"Heh, sometimes you can be a bit too trusting."

"Someone has ta be the lighthearted one around heah. See y'all 'round."

Even after she left, Sonic still stared. Sally snapped him out of it.

"It's not polite to stare," she said.

"Sorry. What happened to her?"

"She was roboticized, partially anyway. We were able to get to her before the process could be completed."

"You mean, Robotnik tried to turn her into a..."

"Unfortunately, this isn't all that uncommon. Hundreds of Mobians were roboticized after the coup, maybe thousands."

"Robotnik," Sonic spat. Now he knew he had to bring Robotnik down. He could have stopped all of this. He could have stopped Robotnik before he could start the coup. Instead, he somehow got blasted into the future, which he still didn't understand. But that really didn't really matter now. He was there, so he might as well do what he can.

* * *

As the first test of his loyalty, Sonic was put on look out duty. Not a particularly good way to channel his talents, but he needed to get the others to trust him before they would actually let him join the Freedom Fighters. Joining him was the two tailed fox Miles Prower, affectionately called Tails by his friends. Sonic was certain they had Tails join him to make sure he didn't try anything. Though the princess had her doubts, the young fox was certainly eager to have Sonic join.

So far, there hadn't been any activity. Sonic was never one to stand still for too long. He could run faster than the speed of sound, and he easily became stir crazy if he stayed in one place for too long. In shorthand, he was bored. Though, it couldn't be helped. He decided to strike up a conversation with Tails.

"So, two tails huh? You get picked on a lot for that?"

"Yeah. It was kinda hard for a while with all the bullying, but I showed them."

"You fought back?"

"No, I learned how to fly."

"Say what? No way."

"Serious. Here, watch."

Tails stood up and began rotating his twin tails in opposite directions. In his disbelief, Sonic watched as the young fox rose into the air, his tails spinning like helicopter blades. After he saw Sonic's surprised look, Tails touched back down.

"Woah. You Freedom Fighters are full of surprises. So, why haven't you guys made more progress with Robotnik?" asked Sonic.

"Well, you've pretty much met all the Freedom Fighters there are," answered tails.

"You mean, it's just the five of you? There's a bunch of people in the village, and you're the only ones fighting?"

"You don't understand. We go on missions inside Robotropolis itself. It's too dangerous for a big group to do these kinds of jobs. So, we keep our group small to make sure that people don't get harmed."

"I get it. I know your leader has doubts about letting me join, but I know that helping you fight Robotnik is the right thing. If I get in, I promise, I'll help you bring that psychopath down."

"I know. But first, you've got be on your best behavior so that Aunt Sally let's join for real."

"Yeah... Wait, _Aunt_ Sally? Are you two related?"

"Not really. She took care of me after the coup, so I like to call her Aunt."

"So, she's like family." Then, Sonic thought of something that hadn't occurred to him before then. What happened to his own family? He'd have to wait to get the answer to that question. Sonic and tails saw something coming toward the forest. It seemed be a robot that was designed for deforestation.

"Oh no! It looks like Robotnik's caught on that we're here in the forest!" Tails exclaimed. With that thought in his mind, he grabbed his radio and contacted Freedom HQ. "This is Tails, Robotnik's sent this giant tree cutter robot!

On the other end, Sally replies, "If we let that thing cut the forest down, Knothole will be exposed! I'm sending in Bunnie to help you bring it down. But Sonic is to remain at his post. Understand?"

"... Yes Aunt Sally. Sorry, Sonic. Orders are orders." Leaving Sonic there, the fox flew off towards the Deforestator, with Bunnie rocketing after him. Sonic was understandably frustrated. He knew he could help destroy the robot, but all he could do was watch.

* * *

Bunnie managed to get there before Tails. She engaged the demonic machine, giving a mighty punch to it's midsection with her robotic arm. The robot, however, wasn't deterred by this at all. It kept advancing toward the forest. Tails landed on it's head, attempting to hot wire it's circuits. In response, the Deforestator unleashed a metallic tentacle that ensnares the fox. Bunnie tried to free him, just to get caught herself. The metal monstrosity wasn't through yet. It started a massive saw on one of its arms and began to move Bunnie and Tails towards it.

Sonic could have called Freedom HQ to inform them of the situation, but realized that they would never make it in time to save them. But he could. Sonic leaped down from his position and took off, full tilt, towards the robot.

Bunnie and Tails were inches away from the saw blade. But before it could finish them off, it detected a loud noise approaching it: a sonic boom. It tried lock onto the source, Sonic was already circling the robot, creating a whirlwind around it. The wind generated was strong enough to cause the robot to drop Tails and Bunnie. Bunnie agilely landed on her feet, while Tails once again took flight.

"That thing's unstoppable!" yelled Tails.

"Nothing's unstoppable. We just have to find it's weak spot." Sonic began to rapidly attack the robot's armor with his spin move. Striking several points on its body, Sonic soon found a weak point in the armor. "Bunnie, pull off the armor on it's lower back!"

"You got it, Sugah!" Flying behind the Deforestator and tore at the weakened armor, exposing wires and circuits. "What now?"

"Tails, you think you can hot wire 'im?"

"You bet I can!" Tails flew up to the exposed inner workings of the Deforestator and started pulling and re arranging wires. Meanwhile, Sonic and Bunnie provided cover for the fox as he worked. Sonic managed to slice off one of the mech's tentacles, and Bunnie was able to disable one of it's legs. Suddenly, the Deforestator began slicing itself in half with its own saws. The clattered wreck crashed to the ground, completely destroyed.

"Yeah! We did it!" cheered Tails.

"We sure did. But, you know, Sugah Hog, y'all are probably gonna get and eah full from Sally girl." she said.

"I'll worry about that. Let's just get back to HQ before Robotnik sends more of his bolt brains after us."

* * *

"You were given an order to stay put, and you got involved anyway!" yelled Sally. "You disobeyed a direct order and went headlong into a dangerous situation!"

"I know, I should have called for back up, but Bunnie and Tails..." Sonic started.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"You risked your own life, and your candidacy to join the Freedom Fighters, to save two people you hardly know. If that's not an act of selflessness, I don't know what is. So, I hereby induct you into the ranks of the Freedom Fighters."

"That's great! You won't regret this. I promise."

"I certainly hope not."

* * *

The overlord watches the data recovered from the Deforestator's memory core. He saw the blue hedgehog responsible for its destruction. His beautiful creation, brought down so easily after the rodent came onto the scene. A diminutive man came in. He was mostly bald, with only a few hairs on his head, and wore a green variant of Robotnik's own outfit.

"What is it, Snively?" the doctor questioned, seemingly annoyed.

"Sir, it would seem that this hedgehog was spotted in Furville at 1300 hours. It would seem he doesn't posses a citizen chip, nor is he in any of our data bases. It is as if he just appeared out of nowhere."

"You can spare me the details, Snively. I know who he is." Robotnik leaned in toward the screen. He knew of only one creature that could move like that. Even though he looked different, Robotnik would never forget that look of utter defiance. "Hello... Bernard Maurice Hedgehog."


	3. Infiltration

**A/N: Sorry for the massive delay.**

**Chapter 3: Infiltration**

The next day, Sally called the Freedom Fighters together for a mission briefing. Sonic, being the way he is, was the first one there. Part of it was to show off, but it was mostly because he was eager to go on his first mission. All he had ever wanted was to make a difference, ever since he was young... back when he had brown fur and was in his own time period. That bit was still a mystery to him, but not nearly as important as what was going on at the moment.

The rest of the FF soon began to enter the control room. Tails was his usual eager self, jogging in with youthful vigor. He was followed by Rotor, who was attempting to keep up. Next were Bunny and Antoine. While the cybernetic rabbit gave Sonic a friendly wave, Ant shot him a distrustful look, eliciting a swift elbow bump from Bunny.

Once everyone was settled in, Sally began to speak.

"Alright, the objective of this mission is simple, but the execution will be difficult. NICOLE intercepted a transmission from Robotropolis. There will be a group of prisoners being transported to the city. Robotnik may think they have something to do with the Freedom Fighters, so we can expect them to be heavily guarded."

"Prisoners? Who are they?" asked Tails.

Sally began to answer "A small resistance group from Furville, led by..."

"Geoffry St. John," Sonic finished.

"Yes. How did you..."

"We've met."

"Excusez moi, but 'ow will we be intercepteeng zis prison transport?" questioned Antoine. "Any vehicle we use weel be far too loud to go undetecteed."

"He's right, Sally. I haven't been able to silence our vehicles with the equipment we have," Rotor added.

"Well, that one's easy. As you know, we've recently gained a new member. It just so happens that he has the ability to move faster than the speed of sound. He'll be able to attack the transports before being detected by the SWATbots."

"Can we really trust zee 'edgehog? He just came out of ze blue. Why not join us earlier?" questioned Antoine.

"Now isn't the time to question loyalties, Antoine. Besides, you, Bunnie, and Tails are going with him. Once he's taken out the SWATbots, you three will secure the transports.

"Does that mean we'll be bringin' the prisonas back heah?" asked Bunnie.

"Yes. If we return them to Furville, then there's a chance they'll be captured again."

"Hang on, what about the Citizen Chips? Won't they be able to track the prisoners with 'em?" Sonic asked"

"Rotor and I have that covered," explained Tails. "We've got a way to jam them, until we can remove them."

"Sonic," Sally started, "you'll have to take out the SWATbots on your own. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Hey, it can't be any worse than a thirty foot tall tree cutter of death," Sonic replied.

"Alright then. The mission will begin in two hours."

* * *

Sonic awaited the prison transport about half way between Furville and Robotropolis. It would be there in a matter of minutes. He knew that this wouldn't be very difficult for him, but for some reason, he was more tense than he's ever been. He figured it was because he wanted to make a good impression. Sonic had never really used his abilities like this before. That's not to say he didn't use his speed often, it's just that he had always used it away from anyone who might see it. Besides his Uncle Charles, Sonic was the only living soul that knew of his powers. It was Chuck who helped him to control it in the first place.

Thinking of this, Sonic wondered what happened to him.

The transport was in sight. He radioed his friends (and Antoine), telling them to get ready.

"Transport in site. Moving to intercept."

"Ya know, you don't have ta be so formal, Sugah," Bunnie said.

"Hey, I just wanna make a good impression. Anyway I'd better get goin'"

Sonic didn't waste any time (unsurprisingly). After a quick stretch, he shot off like a rocket toward his target. As expected, the SWATbots were unable to respond quickly enough to stop him. Sonic, quite literally, broke into the back of the transport. He quickly dispatched the driver and the co-pilot. Without the bots, the transport skidded to a halt. The hedgehog went to the back of the vehicle to check on the prisoners. There were only four of them. A female red fox; Fiona, a blue chameleon; Valdez, a black and white cat; Hershey, and of course, Geoffrey St. John.

"Hey, Geoff. How's tricks?"

"Sonic? Blimey, you're a sight for sore eyes," the skunk said, relieved.

"Sonic? Sounds made up," the fox said.

"You gonna complain, Fiona?" asked the chameleon.

"Guess not."

"So, what happened? Did you find 'em? Geoffrey asked Sonic.

"Yeah. They sent me to get you out of here. Speaking of which..." Sonic contacts the other Freedom Fighters with his earpiece. "Bunnie, the tranport's secure. Waiting for extracti..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the transport started moving. The transport had gone into auto-pilot. Sonic was about to do something about it, but Geoffrey stopped him.

"Wait! For all we know, it could be rigged to blow if we muck with it!" he stated. He had a point. To Robotnik, a dead prisoner is better than an escaped one.

"Okay, then we're gonna have to jump out..." Sonic started. This plan would have worked, had the transport not been encased in an energy shield that suddenly went up.

"Hey guys, we've got a bit of a problem. The transport just went into auto-pilot, and it looks like we're stuck in here."

"Yeah, we see ya, sugah," Bunnie replied. "Just hold tight, and we'll getcha outta there. 'Till then, you should maintain radio silence."

"Got it." Sonic switched off his radio.

"I hate to say it, mate, but this is lookin' like a trap," Geoffrey stated.

"Why would Robotnik want him?" Valdez chided.

"Because he can break the sound barrier on foot," Geoffrey snapped. "Do you know what would happen if Sonic got robotisized?"

"Oh..."

"Oh heck no, I ain't getting robotisized! When we get there, I'm gonna tear the place up!" Sonic was obviously not interested in being turned into a robot.

"What do you plan on doing? Fight the battalion of SWATbots that's probably waiting for us?" Fiona asked sarcastically.

"If I have to."

The situation didn't look too good. Not to mention he just got captured on his first mission. That was just insulting. Although, this presented him with a unique opportunity. Robotnik was bringing him right into the city. It was too good for him to pass up. He had to do something. Sonic had missed twelve whole years, and it was time for him make up for it.

As they approached the city, it became noticeably darker, and not because it was getting late. The smog was so thick, it actually blotted out the sun. The buildings were caked in grime, soot, and all manner of filth. This city was an absolute nightmare.

The transport pulled into a hanger, where it came to a stop. The inside wasn't much of an improvement from the outside. The lighting, or lack thereof, made for dismal atmosphere, and the angle of the walls seemed to crush down on them. Fiona had been right, there were dozens of SWATbots waiting for them. To anyone else, the situation would have looked bad. To Sonic, this was a brisk exercise.

Sonic burst out the transport, lashing out against the robots in a great, blue blur of attacks. He brought down six of them quickly, but the others were beginning to surround him. The hedgehog gets ready for their attack, but then one of the bots suddenly started bashing at itself, quickly reducing itself to a lump of twisted metal. As it crashed to the ground, Valdez gradually became visible. He had gone invisible and attacked one of the bots. Moments later, Fiona leaped from the transport, and Valdez tossed the fallen robot's laser rifle to her. She open fire and took a few down. Geoffry and Hershey rushed out, armed themselves, and followed suit. Through their combined efforts, the five mobians brought down the SWATbots. Seeing them in action, Sonic only had one thought.

"Okay, how did you guys get caught?"

"We let ourselves get caught," Hershey said"

"What?"

"We didn't mean for you ta get mixed up in this mate. You weren't supposed to be here," Geoffrey assured. Sonic sure didn't feel assured.

"Look, we over heard the some of the swaties talkin' about something they'd located. They only ever referred to it in code. Called it CE-2. Omega level priority. That means it's something big. Now if I'm right, there's already a CE-1. We need to find it,"

"What do you think it is?" Sonic asked.

"Dunno. What ever it is, it's important enough to get the big man's full, undivided attention. Now let's get outta here before more badniks show up."

With no arguments, the group moved out of the hanger, but not before Fiona grabbed the head off one of the SWATbots. Once outside, Sonic found it difficult to breathe without gagging. In the transport, they were sealed off from the environment of the city. He actually started to miss being in the transport. They eventually enter another building, and manage to find a monitor that wasn't being operated by a robian. Fiona connected the SWATbot's head to it and began hacking its data banks. After looking through the files, she found what she was looking for: the whereabouts of CE-1.

"Okay, according to this, CE-1 is being kept in a building just a few blocks from here. There's a ton of security... this thing must be important," Fiona explained.

"Alright. Let's move out," Geoffrey said. The group left quickly, wanting nothing more than to find CE-1 and get out of that accursed city. They made their way to the building that it was supposed to be in. The guards didn't put up much of a fight, and Sonic was able to destroy the security cameras before they could even see him. As they went through the building, they noticed something a little disconcerting; there wasn't anything inside except guards. No experiments, no robians working on things, no weapon assembly lines... nothing. This meant one of two things. 1: The information from the SWATbot was inaccurate, or 2: The whole building was dedicated solely to CE-1.

They came up to a room with several guards posted outside the blast door. As before, they weren't much of a match for Sonic. The blast door on the other hand was going a bit of a problem.

"Fiona, you think you can get it open?" Geoffrey asked?

"Probably. I'll need a few minutes with it," replied Fiona, as she began to fiddle with the control panel.

Sonic looks down the hall, and sees a large number of SWATbots coming toward them. "Um... I don't think we have a few minutes."

"Ah blimey... Cover Fiona! Don't let 'em get through!" Geoffry commanded. He, Valdez, and Hershey began firing down the hall. Sonic couldn't get in without being in the line of fire. All could do was watch as the laser blasts flew past. After what seemed like an eternity, Fiona finally hacked the blast door, and it flew open. The group quickly went through, and Fiona shut the door behind them, locking it from the inside. As they breathed a sigh of relief, Sonic looked toward the center of the room. There was a sort of high-tech container that was the entire hight of the room, with a transparent section at eye level. Inside it, something was emitting a soft, green glow. Sonic walked toward it, almost eager to find out what it was. When he reached it, Sonic saw what CE-1 was. A fist sized, glowing, emerald.

"A gem? CE-1 is a gem? I mean, it's huge, but Robotnik doesn't need money, he'd just take what he wants!" Geoffrey raved.

"That is no mere gem," a voice interrupted. A robotisized hedgehog came out of a dark corner. He looked as if he was pretty old when he was robotisized. He had a white metallic mustache across his upper "lip."

"Robian!" The team aimed their weapons at the robotic hedgehog.

"I don't want any trouble." This robian spoke well. Sonic was told that when someone is robotisized, they lose their free will, making them speak like, well, robots. This one sounded like he was still thinking on his own. Something seemed oddly familiar about him to Sonic.

"That gem is called a Chaos Emerald. It emits enormous amounts of power, enough to power a whole city by itself," the robian explained.

"Why are you telling us this? Aren't you supposed to be totally loyal to Robotnik?" Hershey asked?

"Robotnik had me analyze it, but as soon as I touched it, my free will was restored. I'm not a slave anymore, I'm a prisoner. Robotnik has forced my to study the Emerald. He wants me to make a weapon for him, but I've been stalling. I cannot consciously allow him to have this kind of power. You must take it. You must not allow Robotnik to have it!"

A loud banging came from the blast door. The SWATbots were attempting to force their way in. The robian quickly went to the containment unit and smashed the glass in. He took the Emerald out of it, then handed it to Sonic.

"Hey, wait a minute...!" Sonic stammered, a little concerned about holding something like that with relatively unprotected hands.

"Don't worry, it's safe to touch. Take it away from here... take it to the grotto."

"What?"

"Um, how exactly do we get out of here? The swaties are outside the door and it's the only way out of here." Fiona pointed out.

"Clear the door. Fiona, when I tell you, open it," Sonic said.

"Are you crazy?" Fiona yelled. "They'll gun you down in a second!"

"Just do it!"

Sonic got himself ready, he wasn't about to let a bunch of robots drop him.

"NOW!"

Fiona opened the door, and before she could even turn her head to look at him, he was already moving. The hedgehog charged at the bots, curling into his signature spin move. He drilled through the SWATbots and nearly hit the opposite wall. The others didn't waste any time and followed him out of the building. But as soon as they got out, there were something like a hundred SWATbots waiting for them. Needless to say, it didn't look good.

As the SWATbots charged their weapons, a hover craft touched down behind them. The bots step aside to form a walk way for the man inside: Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

"So, you thought you could just take what is mine? You lot have been more trouble than you're worth." Robotnik... this was the man who took over the whole planet, and turned many of its people into machines. Sonic wanted beat him within an inch of his life.

"Now, you're going to come with me."


	4. Escape

**Chapter 4: Escape**

Robotnik had the group brought directly to the main building of the city. It towered above the other buildings, practically dwarfing them. However there was one thing bigger: Robotnik's ego. The dictator had Geoffrey, Hershey, and Fiona put in a holding cell, while he brought Sonic and Valdez into a large room. He had a couple SWATbots force the two onto their knees, while he lightly tossed the Chaos Emerald in his hand, a smug look on his face.

What appeared to be a metal tube with a glass door standing directly in the center of the room. Sonic wasn't sure what he was looking at, but Geoffrey and Valdez were all too familiar with what purpose this tube served. It was the roboticizer: the cursed device that turned flesh to steel. This fate awaited one of them.

"You know what this is." Robotnik said flatly. "You rebellious cretins have forced my hand"

"Ah stuff it, egghead. You roboticize people all the time. What makes this time any different?" Valdez spat.

"You hold little interest to me, reptile. The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a much different story. You see, I thought I had killed him, twelve long years ago." He knew. He knew who Sonic really was. The hedgehog saw before him someone who may as well be his arch nemesis. He brought him and Valdez into this room to make a point to the hedgehog. Hate began to well up inside Sonic. Sonic had never truly hated anyone, at least not like this.

"Now I see, that I need to make my point a bit clearer." His glass obscured eyes move from Valdez to the SWATbot guarding him. "Put him in."

The chameleon thrashed at the robot, with little affect. The metal monstrosity dragged him over the roboticizer and unceremoniously tossed him in. The glass door slid shut as Valdez desperately tried to get out. Almost nonchalantly, Robotnik pulled a switch on a nearby console. All Sonic could do was watch in horror as the machine hummed to life. Valdez appeared to let out a blood curdling scream, but it was completely muted by the glass barrier. He began to turn. First his feet, then legs, the metal creeping up his body. When it finally reached his head, the chameleon stopped screaming. For a few seconds, he was frozen in his position, but then began to settle into an unnaturally straight stance. The door slid open, and the mechanized chameleon stepped out.

"How may I serve you, Doctor?" Valdez asked in an electronic monotone voice.

"I believe you already have. You will report to the weapons factory," Robotnik said.

"Yes, Doctor." With that, Mech-Valdez left the room.

"Ah, that never gets old," Robotnick snickered.

"You monster!"

"I'm not the monster here, rodent! Before your filth dragged itself from the muck, humans ruled the planet." The dictator moved closer to Sonic, a very intense look on his face. "You furry freaks have had your fun ruling the planet. It's time that the humans take it back."

"Humans, or just you?"

"For you it doesn't matter. This time, I'm going to make sure you're taken out of this world for g..."

Robotnik was cut off by the sound of an explosion. The dictator rushed to a monitor, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Dammit, what's going on! Someone answer me!" Robotnik shouted.

"INTRUDERS. FREEDOM FIGHTERS HAVE INFILTRATED THE..." the SWATbot was cut off as it was being decapitated by Antoine.

"Blast!" Robotnik turned to order the bot to execute Sonic, but as soon as he did, he saw the hedgehog leaping toward him, the robot guarding him destroyed. The force of the impact caused the dictator to stumble back toward the roboticizer, which promptly slams shut, clamping Robotnik's left arm in the machine. As he struggled to get himself free, he laid his eyes on Sonic, a look of pure hatred on the hedgehog's face. Sonic walked up to the trapped man, and forcibly took the Chaos Emerald back from him.

"Well, Eggman, I think it's time you had some of your own medicine." With that, Sonic pulled the switch, activating the roboticizer. The hedgehog turned his back the screaming dictator and left.

* * *

Sonic hurried through the building, searching for Geoffrey and his team. After running through several hallways, he found them in a small holding area. He took out the guard and unlocked the cell door.

"Let's get out of here," Sonic said.

"Wait, where's Valdez?" Geoffrey asked.

"Robotnik... roboticized him..." Hershey let out a small gasp, and Fiona looked away. Geoffrey had a grim look on his face, but quickly shaped up, knowing that the situation was too dire to grieve.

"Valdez knew the risks going in. We can't his loss be in vein. Let's move people." He motioned the group out of the cell. "Just pleas tell me you got the Emerald."

"Yeah, I got it," Sonic said. "And I gave him a little parting gift to remember me by."

Their way out of the building wasn't easy. They needed to fight their way through numerous SWATbots, and navigate around the built in security measures, which included wall mounted lasers, trapdoors into spike pits, and a dozens of little crab robots. Once out of the main building, the group contemplated how they were going to get out of Robotropolis. They were smack dab in the middle of the massive city, and getting as far in as they did before getting caught was difficult enough.

"Alright, now how the hell do we get out of this pit?" Fiona said.

"Some of the Freedom Fighters are here in the city," Sonic said. "If we can get to them, we can get out here."

"Right. We need to contact them somehow. Fiona, you think you could rig one of the swaties' radios?" Geoffrey asked.

"I think so. We just need a SWATbot..."

"Got one," Sonic said. Holding a SWATbot's head.

"Show off," Hershey teased.

After a few tweaks, and a lot of dismantling, Fiona managed to produce a working radio. Figuring the FF would trust Sonic more than her, she handed it to him.

"Come in, come in. This is Sonic. I'm with the rebels near the center of the city."

"I read ya sugah. What happened?" Bunnied replied

"Kind of a long story. Highlight is, we got a high priority package we need to get out of the city."

"Alright. We've got your position, we're comin' for ya. You best get movin' yourselves."

"Got it. Over and out."

* * *

Bunny and Antoine sneaked through the massive city to get to their fellow Freedom Fighter. Although, Antoine claimed it was just because Sonic could give away the location of Knothole if he was roboticized. After almost an hour, the duo spotted Sonic and the rebels.

"Well there y'all are," Bunnie said.

"Ze mission was to rescue ze prisoners, not to mount an invasion!" Antoine practically shouted.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea to get caught in a trap," Sonic said.

"Anyway, what's this high priority package you mentioned?" Bunnie asked.

"This." Sonic showed them Chaos Emerald. Antoine opened his mouth to further berate Sonic, but Bunnie gave him a stern 'don't even think about it' look.

"Well, let's get y'all out of here."

With that, the group headed for the city limits, where Tails was waiting in a vehicle of some sort vehicle. It looked rather hobbled together, but this wasn't surprising given what the Freedom Fighters had to work with. The group got in, and took off for the Great forest. However, they weren't out of danger yet. SWATbots were following close behind in hovercraft, zeroing their weapons on the Freedom Fighters' vehicle. They would have to lose the swaties if they were going to make their get away. Bunnie hung out of an open side door, and converts her robotic arm into an energy cannon and opens fire. She manages to bring down one of the crafts, but the bots were still hot on their tails. Sonic pulled the rabbit back in the vehicle.

"I'll get the rest of them," he said, handing her the Chaos Emerald. "Hang on to this for me."

Sonic then leaped out of the vehicle and attacked the hovercrafts. He took out the first one, sending it hurtling into the others, causing them to pile up. With his job done, Sonic caught up with the Freedom Fighters and got back in the vehicle.

"Show off," Antoine scoffed.

* * *

Back in Robotropolis, worker bots were busy picking up pieces of SWATbots and dealing with explosion damage. Robotnik, as one could imagine, was incredibly displeased. He had lost three prisoners, the Chaos Emerald, and had yet again letting Sonic get away. All in all, it was a really bad day for the dictator. Robotnik's diminutive nephew was tending to the doctor after his, mishap with the roboticizer.

"Snively."

"Yes, Dr. Robotnik?"

"I think, that I'm going to learn..." Robotnik clenched his newly acquired metal fist, swiftly bringing it down on a monitor displaying video of Sonic, "... to really hate that hedgehog."


	5. Chaos and Power

Chapter 5: Chaos and Power

Knothole Village. The sight of it conveyed a sense of relief to Sonic, and one of awe to the remaining three rebels from Furville. The hedgehog's first official mission didn't go exactly as planned. The whole thing turned out to be a trap for the Freedom Fighters, or quite possibly, for Sonic himself. They ended up losing Valdez to the roboticizer, just because Robotnik wanted to send a message. Although, it wasn't a complete loss. They managed to steal one of the dictator's most well guarded treasures, the huge, glowing gem known as a Chaos Emerald. Rotor was eager to study it, but when they got back to Freedom HQ, Sally expressed some concern about keeping it there.

"For all we know, Robotnik could be tracking it," the princess said.

"I don't think that's the case," Rotor said, running some sort of scanner over the Emerald. "This thing isn't giving off any significant amount of detectable energy. But it is causing some unusual interference with my scanner."

"With the amount of security Buttnik had on this thing, it must be important," Geoffry said.

"Indeed. No matter what I scan it with, the readings are all over the place."

"The info we got on it suggests there are more of these things. When we found out about it, it was referred to as CE-2. This one is CE-1," Hershey explained.

"How do we even know it's a power source? It could just be some wild goose chase Robotnik came up with to distract us," Sally said.

"Well, there's a fairly simple way to test that," Rotor answered. He pulled something out of the shoulder worn utility belt he wore. They appeared to be small circular pads attached to wires, which are connected to some kind of gizmo. The walrus placed the pads on the Emerald. "This will measure the amount of power, if any, this Emerald puts out.

The walrus proceeded to activate the device. In less than a second, the meter shot up to the max. But it didn't stop there. The screen began to fill up with static, before the device shorted out. Rotor barely managed to drop it before it exploded.

"Heh, um, well that answers that question. That device was meant to handle up to ten gigawatts. That means, one gem has more power than a nuclear power plant," Rotor said.

Sally had a look of barely concealed horror. Robotnik had something that could have easily powered all of Robotropolis. She didn't even want to imagine what would could have happened if he managed to weaponize it. One thing that was absolutely certain to her.

"We can't let Robotnik have this, or any other like it. If he even gets one..."

"He may not even know how to use it's power. The energy wreaks havoc with machinery. But that doesn't give us any less reason to keep them away from him," Rotor interjected.

"There was... a prisoner that Robotnik was forcing to study the Emerald. Before we got out of there, he told me to get it to the grotto..." Sonic said, remembering what the oddly familiar robian had said to him.

"There... is a spring nearby the village, but I don't know if that's the same..." Sally started. However before she could finish, Sonic had already grabbed the Emerald and bolted off. The princess gave a frustrated sigh at the hedgehog's impatience. She didn't even get a chance to tell him where the spring was. After adjourning the meeting, she headed after him.

* * *

Sonic had already gotten out of the village when he realized he had no idea where he was going. Further more, he was going off on something that he learned from a robian. However, he felt as though he could trust him. Sonic couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt as if they had met before. He was about to head back, when he noticed Sally coming toward him.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to be a little patient," the princess scolded lightly.

"Sorry," Sonic apologized.

"Well, since we're out here, I suppose I could show you where the spring is," Sally said. "But this time, you follow me, and don't go running off."

"Got it."

Sally led Sonic through the forest. It was fortunate that Sally had come along; he was going in completely the wrong direction. After about fifteen minutes, they had reached a clearing. The spring was directly in front of them. Sonic rushed ahead, but stopped after remembering another important fact; he couldn't swim. This made him feel a little embarrassed, since he was so eager to get to the spring.

"Let me guess. You can't swim," Sally said.

"Yeah..."

"Here..." She pulls something out of her vest's pocket. "It's a re-breather."

"Uh... thanks. What about you?"

"I happen to be a strong swimmer. Don't worry. If you start to drown, I'll rescue your butt," she said, a small smirk appearing on her mouth.

"Right."

Sonic fitted the re-breather over his mouth, and slowly edged into the water. Sally slipped off her vest, then took a deep breath and followed him in. Normally, Sonic would have avoided deep water like the plague, but he felt something important lied at the bottom of this spring. They swam down to the bottom (well, Sonic more or less just dropped). Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. That is, until, the Chaos Emerald started glowing more intensely. Suddenly, the bottom of the spring began crack, and something started rise up out of it. The top of a machine became visible, and soon afterward, what appeared to be a walkway leading to it. The whole thing rose to the surface of the water, the top of the machine breaching the water, while the walkway stayed a few inches beneath the surface. The two got back out of the water to get a better look at the machine. They walked down the semi-submerged path toward the odd looking device that had just come out of the spring. There was a crystal-like stone fitted into the base of the machine, and a circular orifice on the top, seemingly designed to hold a large ring.

"What is this thing?" Sally finally asked.

"I don't know. I figured there'd be something to put the Emerald in, but I don't see any kind of slots," said Sonic.

"The Emerald glows brighter when it gets near it. Maybe it has something to do with the crystal."

"Maybe. It's almost calling to the Emerald." Sonic edged closer to the machine. As he got closer, the Emerald glowed brighter. Sonic touched the Emerald to the crystal, which began glowing itself. The ring slot began to fill with what looked like liquid energy. Once the slot was filled, the energy solidified into a large, golden ring, which began to float above the device. Sally crossed over the walkway to the machine, gingerly taking the gold ring from its spot in the air.

"It makes gold? That would have been useful back before Robotnik took over," Sally said a bit bitterly.

"Let me see that..." As soon as Sally handed the ring to Sonic, it began to glow. The hedgehog felt a surge of energy flowing through him, making him feel... powerful. "Woah..."

"Woah is right," Sally said in awe. "Why didn't it do that when I had it?"

Sonic didn't respond. He couldn't take his eyes off the ring. It was mesmerizing, like flame to a moth, except without the burning. After Sally couldn't get a response, she took the ring back from him, snapping the hedgehog out of his trance.

"Wha..."

"Kinda lost you there for a second."

"Yeah, sorry."

"What was it like?"

"It was... soothing. Energizing. It felt like I could do anything."

"I know this is hard for you, but slow down. We're not doing anything with this ring until we figure out what it is."

"Right right. Okay, let's get back to HQ. Rotor could figure it out."

* * *

Once the two made it back to the village, Rotor almost immediately began running tests on the ring that had been created by the machine in the grotto. While this was happening, the village's physician, Dr. Quack, was running a few tests of his own... on Sonic himself. Sally had the doctor check him out as a precaution. For all they knew, the ring could have been dangerous. Sonic wasn't too excited about his little check up, and insisted that he was completely fine. The hedgehog was just sitting there, wondering what the doctor could learn from shining a light in his eyes.

"Well, you look fine, kid," said Quack.

"Yeah, I could have told you that," Sonic blurted.

"We're just being thorough. For all we know, that thing could have been radioactive."

"Has Rotor figured it out yet?"

"No. I'm done with ya. If you hurry, you might be able to..." The doctor was cut off when Sonic darted out the door.

Sonic made his way over to Rotor's hut, which doubled has his lab. There were many odds and ends scattered all over the place, all of it looking like the walrus had either put together or disassembled it. Sure enough, Rotor was inside, studying the golden ring. He wasn't alone; Sally was also there. She was obviously curious about the ring as well.

"Sonic. The doctor let you out already?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, he gave me a clean bill of health," Sonic replied. He was going to hate himself in the morning for that one.

"Well, I can definitely say that this ring isn't radioactive," Rotor said, looking up from the ring. "It's energy is similar to that of the emerald, but much weaker. I'd say this thing would completely drain after a few minutes of use."

"But, what would you use it for?" Sally asked.

"I don't know. It expends too much power at once to be a useful power source, and if it's anything like the emerald, it could possibly wreak havoc with anything we try power with it." The walrus scratched his head, utterly stumped as to the purpose of the ring. After a brief silence, Sonic spoke up.

"When I held it, it started glowing, and I felt this... rush of energy flowing through me," he said.

"That's another thing. Why does the ring only respond to you?" Sally inquired.

"Well, it could, this is just a theory mind you, have something to do with Sonic's abilities," Rotor said. "It's possible that the source of his speed is triggering the ring to release energy."

"Well, we'll need everything we can get to bring down Robotnik's empire," Sonic said. "I say, I take the ring and see what it can do."

"Are you crazy? You have no idea what that thing could do to you!" Sally practically yelled.

"It didn't feel like it was hurting me. Besides, this thing is either an asset or a time-bomb. We should deal with it now, before it's too late."

Sonic spoke sense. The ring could either be beneficial or dangerous, and it wasn't a good idea to just wait and see which it was. They couldn't risk waiting. Finally, Sally relented.

"Alright," she said with a sigh. "But we're not gonna take this lightly."

* * *

Rotor had them go out to the edge of the forest. They made the long trip to the side opposite of Robotropolis to avoid any attention from the egghead. Sonic had numerous gizmos attached to him, both to collect data, and to monitor his vitals. Once he was all set up, Rotor brought Sonic the ring.

"Alright, just a warning, I've got you wired to administer a small shock that'll undo your grip if your vitals start to drop," Rotor warned.

"Got it," Sonic replied. He looked at the ring for a second, and then took it from Rotor's hands. Almost immediately it started glowing, and Sonic was filled with the energy he felt when he first touched it. "Okay, now what?"

"I dunno. What do you feel like doing?"

"I feel... like running." Without another word, Sonic took off.

Energy flowed through his very being. Faster, and faster... the hedgehog's speed just kept increasing. Within seconds, he had already broken the sound barrier. Soon, Sonic was moving faster than he ever had before. His speed was such, that leaves, dust, and small rocks were being dragged along behind him as he ran. Such energy, such raw... power... it was nothing short of amazing.

That is, until the ring stopped glowing. The glow flicked for a second, then finally just stopped completely. Sonic began to decelerate down to his normal speed. Before going to much further, he put on the breaks and skidded to a stop. After a quick look around, it seemed that in hind sight, that he shouldn't have expended the ring's power going in one direction. With an annoyed groan, he headed back toward the village.


	6. The Second Emerald

**Chapter 6: The Second Emerald**

Robotnik was absolutely furious. He had lost a powerful artifact to his most hated enemy. An enemy he thought he had snuffed out twelve years ago. What's more, that enemy had gotten his left arm roboticized. Although, he had to admit, the arm was quite useful. It came with a machine gun, which he was using to blast a monitor with an image of the hedgehog displayed on it. Needless to say, the doctor wasn't in a very good mood.

"Damn that hedgehog!" he bellowed. "Blasted rodent!"

"Doctor, you mustn't stress yourself like this," Snively said calmly. "If you with all your resources couldn't successfully tap into the Emerald's power, what chance do a bunch of rabble-rousers living in the woods have?"

Robotnik took a deep breath. His nephew had a point, as difficult it was to admit it. He had been prodding the Chaos Emerald for years. However, any attempt to harness its power resulted in something getting blown up, and never the thing that was meant to get blown up. Though, he had a very valid counterpoint.

"One should never underestimate the enemy, Snively. The Emeralds are aptly named. They are patently unpredictable. That is why we must not allow any more of them to fall into the Freedom Fighters' hands," Robotnick said. "What is the status of the second Emerald?

"The SWATbots have secured it in Furville, they are in the process of containing it to be moved.

"Hmm... Tell them to wait. We'll be going to retrieve it ourselves."

"Sir?"

"Those Freedom Fighters know where the second emerald is. Like moths to flame, they will attempt to go after it. And when they come, we'll be waiting."

"Sir, may I remind you that the SWATbots seem to be utterly ineffective against the hedgehog? So far, they seem to have been a mere nuisance to him."

"Yes... I believe a change in tactics is in order. Snively, have our newest prisoners brought to the roboticizer.

"Doctor, even if they are roboticized, the robians have never been useful for anything but labor."

"Then I guess I'll just have to make a few modifications, won't I?"

* * *

By the time Sonic had gotten back to village, it was starting to get dark. The ring had enhanced his speed so greatly that it took much longer to run back after it had run out of juice. Sally and Rotor were waiting for Sonic when he finally arrived.

"Never thought I'd get to say this but, what took you so long?" Sally joked.

"Laugh it up, Sal. That ring seriously ramped up my speed, but it didn't last very long. I had to come back at my regular speed," Sonic said. He handed the depleted ring to Rotor, who immediately started doing various scans on it.

"Hm, It looks like whatever kind of energy that filled this ring, also maintained it's molecular structure. In layman's terms, the ring will dissolve fairly soon."

"Well, if that's the case, then it's likely that the machine will probably spit out another of those rings. I'll get someone to keep an eye on it. What I really want to know is who built that machine, and for what?"

"Looking at the data, it would almost seem as if the machine and these 'power rings' were designed specifically for Sonic."

"Me?" Sonic asked.

"Yes. So far, you have been the only one capable of releasing the ring's energy. And let's face it, you're not exactly a run of the mill hedgehog. I mean, how many other people do you know that can break the sound barrier on foot?"

"The list would probably be really short."

"Well, whatever the ring's purpose is, we've finally got something that Robotnik doesn't," Sally said. "We finally have an edge."

"Yeah and we need to keep it. Geoff's gang said that there's another emerald in Furville." Sonic reminded her.

"We can't allow it get to Robotnik. We can't risk infiltrating Robotropolis again, he'll have even more security on the emerald than before."

"Sounds like we're gonna make a trip to Furville then."

* * *

Robotnik tinkered away at one of the roboticizers. His plan was simple, create weaponized robians. Normally, roboticized mobians would have very limited intelligence, and needed to be given specific instructions to do any task. This was why he wouldn't trust this task to them. Besides, this sort of thing had always been his calling, apart from becoming supreme dictator of Mobius. He finished the last modifications just as Snively walked in with two prisoners: a chicken and a mole. They were, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. More so than the rabble he usually dealt with. The chicken had a horribly grating voice, it was more like he was cawing his words. The mole seemed be a little slow, with a low, dopey voice. Neither of them seemed particularly bright, spitting out sentences with horrible grammar. Truthfully, Robotnik didn't expect much from them. There was always a chance that his modifications to the roboticizer would kill anyone put inside, so he may as well test it on the expendables before turning it on more capable candidates.

"Waaack! As soon as I get outta this, I"m gonna kick your butt!" the chicken squawked.

"Ah, I see we have our test subjects," Robotnik said.

"What do you want with us?" the mole asked.

"Well we are in the roboticization chamber. What do you think I want with you, hm?"

The two captives swallowed hard after he had said that. They new full well what he intended to do.

"Rest assured, if you survive, you will be the first in a new line of weaponized robians. You should consider it an honor and a privilege. If you don't, it will be a noble sacrifice in the advancement of technology."

"Over our dead bodies!" the chicken spat.

"Well then, looks like you get to go first."

"Ah nuts..."

* * *

The other Freedom Fighters were gathered in Rotor's garage. It was even more full of technological things than in his hut. What caught Sonic's eye most, however, was the three vehicles stored within the garage. It was almost obvious that Rotor had built them himself. Two of them looked like large all terrain vehicles, one of them red, the other blue. The third one looked like it was converted from one of the hover crafts that the SWATbots use. They each had a name painted on them. The read one was called the Cyclone, the blue one was called the Blue Devil, and the hovercraft was called Whirlwind. The All three vehicles looked a bit rough, like Rotor was frequently modifying or repairing them. Tails climbed into the Cyclone's driver seat, with Bunnie and Antoine hopping in the back. Geoffry and his team got into the Blue Devil, with Fiona driving. Sonic climbed into the Cyclone, winding up in the back seat with Antoine. The coyote immediately began shooting him suspicious looks, as he usually did. With a barely heard word of caution to bring them back in one piece, Tails and Fiona step on the gas and rocket out of the garage.

The trip was a bit awkward. Sonic preferred running than riding in vehicles. It might have been better if he didn't have to sit next to Antoine. The tension between them could have been cut with a knife. Ever since he showed up, Antoine had been suspicious of the hedgehog. Though, Sonic couldn't really blame him. He'd probably be suspicious too if he were in Antoine's position. Uncle Chuck always told him to be wary, not to be too quick to trust strangers. Chuck was thoroughly convinced that no-one would ever understand his abilities, and would be ridiculed if people found out. As such, Sonic never really had many friends growing up.

They stopped about quarter of a mile from the edge of the town so not to give themselves away. The SWATbots had definitely stepped up security in since Sonic was there last. Heavily armed SWATbots were stationed at ever street corner. Huge spotlights illuminated the streets and the perimeter of the town. Robotnik certainly wasn't going to make it easy for them. He wasn't going to underestimate the Freedom Fighters again, especially with Sonic now among their ranks.

They split up into three teams. Bunnie and Antoine went in first to take out surveillance at the town's entrance. Once that had been accomplished Geoffry and his rebels went in to scout out the buildings to determine where the Emerald was being held. They had found it being guarded by two SWATbots in the town square. This one was different than the one they got from Robotnik. Instead of being emerald green, it was ruby red.

"Miss Rabbot, we've located the Emerald," Geoffry reported.

"It's pronounced 'Rah-boh' sugah, and that's great. Now it's time for Sonic 'n Tails to swoop in and grab it."

"Wait, somefin' isn't right. It's right out in the open, and there's only two guards. This smells like a trap."

"Eet eez sometheeng we will have to risk. We cannot let Robotneek have ze Emerald," Antoine said.

"Whatever they've got up their sleeves, we can handle it," Sonic assured.

"Alright, just be careful, Hon."

"We'll get the guards' attention. That'll be one less thing for you ta worry about," Geoffry said.

Geoffry readied his arm mounted crossbow and took aim at one of the SWATbots guarding the Emerald. He fired, and hit it right in the middle of the visor, blinding it. The second bot looked up to catch a glimpse of Geoffry fleeing the scene, and begins to pursue him. The blinded guard, however, ran straight into a wall, driving the bolt into its processor. Once the coast was clear, Sonic and Tails moved in to secure the Emerald.

"Heh, to easy," Sonic said.

"Remember what Geoffry said. It might be a trap," Tails reminded.

"If it is, Robuttnik better spring it quick, 'cause we're about to make off with another of his Chaos Emeralds."

"I think not, Rodent," Robotnik said, exiting the building he was lurking in.

"Well, look who's tardy to the party. How's the arm?"

"I've made do. In fact, it's actually an improvement to the old one." Robotnik turned his attention to Tails. "Ah, young Mr. Prower. I didn't expect to see you in the front lines so soon."

"I ain't a kid anymore, egghead," Tails replied.

"Why don't we cut to the chase. You are attempting to steal MY emerald. That won't do at all."

"Well, unless you have a legion of SWATbots hiding behind you, I'd say our chances are pretty good," Sonic taunted.

"Oh no no. SWATbots seem to be quite ineffective against you, so I've decided to take a different approach."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm glad you asked. Scratch! Grounder!

The distinctive sound of metal smashing through concrete could be heard as a pair of robots burst out of the building that Robotnik had been in. They weren't SWATbots, and in fact the looked like robians, though much more menacing and much less stiff. One was a lanky rooster, with hands like razors, and an ear grating cackle. He seemed to be a little cracked in the head cackling like a crazy person. The second robot's spices was practically unidentifiable. He was a hulking, blue-green behemoth with large drills on his arms, a small one that served as his nose, and moved around on tank treads.

"Sonic, meet the S5 Squad."


	7. S5 Squad

**Chapter 7: S5 Squad**

Bunnie was becoming a bit antsy. It was past time for Sonic and Tails to check in. Antoine scoffed that it due to a lack of professionalism, but was quickly silence by Bunnie. She was about to get on her radio to contact them, when they're attention was drawn to the site of a large explosion near the middle of town. Bunnie quickly got on her radio and tried to contact Sonic and Tails, hearing nothing but static. She was about to call Geoffry's team when she saw the reason for their lack of communication. Two odd looking robots were firing at Sonic and Tails. They appeared to be robians, but more heavily armed, and much more vicious. They seemed almost psychotic. These two robots were unlike anything Robotnik has ever made before.

The hulking mole-bot, Grounder, barreled in on the two mobians like a tank, firing his machine guns wildly. His rooster partner, Scratch, was continued his insane cackling as he launched razor sharp, spinning blades at Sonic and Tails. The two Freedom fighters were only barely managing to dodge the manic robots' attacks. Sonic, however, wasn't about to let them get their claws on the Chaos Emerald. Though, getting out of Furville in one piece would prove difficult with a couple of crazy robians on their heels. The tight quarters limited Sonic's ability to get to full speed, and Tails couldn't risk going higher and making himself an open target. It was going to be a bumpy ride.

"Well, wasn't expecting this!" Sonic said, nearly getting his ear sliced off by one of Scratch's blades.

"Yeah, these guys are tough, and crazy to boot!" Tails replied.

"We need to shake these bozos. C'mon!"

Sonic makes a sharp left, with Tails right behind him. Grounder, however, wasn't able to make the turn, and smashed into a wall. As soon as Scratch caught up with him, the rooster-bot started to berate his slower partner.

"Get up, bolt bucket, they're gettin' away!" Scratch screeched.

"Ah shut up, I know that, chicken lips!" Grounder retorted. After Grounder scrambled to his treads, the two robians quickly resumed their chase.

* * *

Bunnie and Antoine were attempting to get in contact with Geoffry's group, with the added hinderence of a dead radio. They eventually spotted them on the rooftops about halfway across the town. Bunnie grabbed Antoine and activated her jets. It took only seconds for them to link up with Geoffry.

"Okay, what in bloody hell are those things?" Geoffry asked.

"Robians," Replied Bunnie.

"Robians aren't that heavily armed, and they're more like mindless slaves. These guys sound absolutely insane!" Fiona chimed in.

Geoffry looked through his scope to try and find Sonic and Tails. He spotted them, and they were being closely followed by the S5 Squad. "Dammit man, you're faster than that..." he muttered.

"Ze 'edgehog has no room to manuvare," Antoine said.

"Then let's get down there and give 'em some bloody help!"

"Zat may more difficult zan you theenk. Ze SWATbuts are closeeng on our position," Antoine pointed out.

"Great. That's all we needed."

The SWATbots were closing in on the Freedom Fighters, forcing them to pull back from their position. It wasn't long before the robots began to open fire. Jumping down off the rooftops, the mobians took cover in one of the abandoned buildings. Soon after that, the SWATbots had them pinned down. If they didn't come up with a plan soon, the Freedom Fighters were going to end up getting turned into piles of ash.

That wasn't the only thing that was disconcerting about the situation. They were only just noticing it since they were focused on recovering the Emerald. Ever since entering the town, they hadn't seen any other mobians.

"What happened to all the people?" Fiona asked.

"Robotnik happened," replied Geoffrey. Dust and debris started flying as the SWATbots began firing in at the Freedom Fighters.

"Alright. Time ta stop holding back," Bunnie finally said.

"What are you talking about?" Hershey asked.

"This." Bunnie's robotic left arm suddenly began to change. Parts rearranged themselves until finally it settled into the form of some type of cannon.

"What the..."

"Cuttin' lasah. Rotor gave it a bit more punch," Bunnie replied. She looked out through the door of the building, taking aim at the SWATbot closest to her and fired, blasting a hole clean through it. A few more blasts, and the way out was clear.

"Alright, y'all, let's go an' give Sonic n' Tails a hand."

"Um, that might be easier said than done," Hershey said, pointing out the legion of SWATbots heading their way.

"Ugh, notheeng eez ever seemple," Antoine grunted.

* * *

The S5 Squad was still in hot pursuit of Sonic and Tails. As dangerous as these two robians were, they weren't very smart. They would insult each other whenever they missed their shots, which was quite often. However, the mobians' luck would run out eventually, and those two manics would get in a good shot. They had to come up with a plan soon.

"Okay, we need to shake these guys!" Sonic yelled to Tails.

"We could try cutting through the buildings!" Tails replied.

"Good idea!"

Sonic made a hard right into one of the buildings, followed closely by Tails. The two began weaving through the inside of the buildings. As expected, Scratch and Grounder were too big and clunky to follow them effectively. They just smashed their way through the buildings. Even being slowed down, they just kept going after the two Freedom Fighters. These robians were relentless. Sonic's mind was racing to figure out a way to take them out. Tail's tactic had bought them a little time to think of something. Sonic quickly grabbed a piece of rubble. Tails looked at him, thinking that he was getting desperate, but the hedgehog spun around and ran straight at Grounder, hurling the rock at such hi speed that when it impacted, it knocked his head clean off. Grounder, however, didn't go offline. In fact, his body got up and started feeling around for his dismembered head. Seeing this, Sonic bolted off again.

Scratch caught up with his partner again, finding him decapitated and flailing around. His head was yelling at his body to try and get it's attention. Scratch, however pick up the screaming body part and forcibly slammed it back on his body, backwards. Grounder grumbled and twisted his head back into position.

"You idiot, don't get your head knocked off!" Scratch yelled.

"Don't call me an idiot, bolt brain!" Grounder retaliated.

"Come on, we can't lose them!" With that, Scratch and Grounder renewed their chase once again.

Up ahead, Sonic and Tails saw them coming for them again. With an exasperated grunt, the two picked up the pace.

"Dang, these guys don't quit!" Sonic said.

"What are we gonna do? We can't charge them without getting riddled with bullets," Tails replied.

"We'll think of something."

* * *

Sally was getting anxious. She sat at her desk in Freedom HQ, staring into space, her thumbs twiddling. It had been far too long since the team had checked in. She knew that there was a possibility that this had been a trap, but they couldn't allow Robotnik to get his hands on something as powerful as the Chaos Emeralds. They had only seen the golden ring work, and that had been only a fraction of what the Emerald could potentially do. It was a necessary risk.

That's what she told herself, anyway. She hated sending her friends out on missions. Even on simple reconnaissance. She sent good people into dangerous situations while she cooled her heels in the safety of Knothole. She once insisted on going along, but Bunnie wouldn't let the princess risk her life. It had always been like that. People coddling and pampering her because of her position as the princess of the Royal Family, and in recent years as the leader of the Freedom Fighters. Though she had lived a life of luxury before the coup, she almost resented it. She was given everything she wanted. At least, everything her father thought she wanted. What Sally really wanted more than anything else was to make friends.

And now after finally making some, she was sending them on missions that they may not return from.

Her thoughts were cut off by a familiar disembodied voice. "Sally, Dylan has returned from the grotto."

"Thank you, NICOLE. Let him in."

"Princess," the porcupine said as he entered. "The device made another ring."

"Did you bring it here?" Sally asked.

"I certainly did," he replied, handing her the ring.

After taking it, the princess took a long look at the ring. It represented the one thing they had that Robotnik didn't. The second true hope that they might actually win this war. The first, of course, being the blue hedgehog with an obviously made up name who could run faster than the speed of sound. Almost as soon as Sonic showed up, they had begun to gain more ground against Robotnik than ever before. She couldn't sit by and let him, and all of her friends go it alone anymore. She knew what she had to do.

"NICOLE, tell Rotor to prep the Whirlwind."

"Sally, you don't intend to..."

"Just do it." Sally got up from her desk, taking the ring with her as she went out the door. "It's time I stopped hiding, and started fighting."

* * *

Blaster fire filled the air with the scent of ionized oxygen. Sweat stung their eyes as they held out against the machines. The Freedom fighters were standing their ground, but they were quickly running out of ammunition. Over all, the situation seemed quite desperate. However, they weren't about to give up. It wasn't even an option. So many had already surrendered to Robotnik. They had no intention of following that example. It was either win or die.

However, in the current situation, the latter was far more likely. The SWATbots had them pinned down again and it wasn't looking good at all.

"Okay, this isn't going well," Hershey said.

"We just have ta hold out a little longah," Bunnie assured.

"We don't have the ammo for that," Geoffrey pointed out.

"Just say it. We're dead," Fiona brooded.

"Don't talk like that, we'll make it out of this mess!"

Truthfully, Bunnie didn't exactly believe her own words. She knew full well that it didn't seem that they would make it out alive. It would take a miracle to get them out of there.

And that miracle came, in the form of Sally hanging out the side of the Whirlwind brandishing a plasma rifle. Shots rained down on the SWATbots, which were completely unprepared for the onslaught that the princess wrought. Before the machines could recalibrate their aim, the other Freedom Fighters used the confusion to their advantage, catching them in a crossfire. Soon, the rest of the SWATbots were down, and Sally touched down.

"Thanks for the ride, Rotor," Sally said as she stepped out.

"No problem, Sal," replied rotor.

"What are you doeeng here, Preencess?" Antoine chided. "Eet eez much too..."

"I'm here to fight for our freedom, Antoine. I'm through just sitting around while you guys risk your lives. I'm coming with you on missions from now on, and I'm not taking no as an answer. Am I clear?"

"...Yes, Preencess," Antoine relented.

"Where's Sonic and Tails?"

"They're runnin' for their lives from some crazy robians," Bunnie answered.

"Robians?"

"Long story. Nuff said that they could use some help."

"Alright. Bunny, I need a lift."

* * *

Scratch and Grounder were closing in. Sonic and Tails have done everything they could without getting blasted. No matter how damaged they were, the two robians would just put themselves back together. The hedgehog and fox were starting to run out of steam. They reach a dead end, slowing them just enough for Scratch and Grounder to catch up.

"Ha ha ha haaaaa! We've gotcha now!" Scratch screeched.

"Yeah, so give up while ya can!" Grounder followed.

"Not gonna happen, bumble-bots," Sonic sneered.

"Yeah, Freedom Fighters never surrender!" said Tails.

The robians just cackled and moved toward them. Before they could get very far, Bunnie came flying towards them with Sally in tow. For a brief moment, the princess locked eyes with Sonic, just before tossing the golden ring she was holding to him. Promptly catching it, he immediately began to feel it's power coursing through him. Strength back, the hedgehog launched toward Scratch, blasting him apart with the sheer force of his Spin Dash. Grounder attempted to attack him with his drills, but was met with the same fate as his partner. Sonic quickly grabbed Tails, and ran out towards the vehicles before the two robians could put themselves back together again. A quick radio call from Sally had the rest of the Freedom fighters doing the same. Scratch and Grounder were left in pieces in the alley.

"Well this is just great!" Scratch's dismembered beak screeched.

"What're we gonna say to Dr. Robotnik?" Grounder asked.

"Why don't you start with an explanation?" Robotnik said, as he approached the sorry scene.

"Ah nuts"

* * *

Back at Freedom HQ, the FF were having a small celebration for their retrieval of the second Emerald. Small being the operative word, as many of them were completely pooped from the mission. It pretty much consisted of soda and chili dogs, prepared by Sonic. Rotor had taken the Emerald for study, leaving the rest to enjoy Sonic's cooking. After some reminiscence about the mission, the conversation shifted to Sally's unexpected appearance in Furville, with her long time friend Bunnie giving her some light scolding.

"Now Sally-Girl, you had no ideah what you were walkin' into. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I know. But I meant what I said. I'm tired of just sitting in here and sending you out knowing that you might not come back. I want to do my part in fighting this war."

"Besides, she kicked but out there!" Tails said.

"Yeah, and she really came through with that Power Ring," Sonic added.

"We have to be ready for anything. You all saw those two robians. Robotnik is getting bolder, no doubt in response to Sonic. If we want any chance of winning this war, we have to unlock the secrets of the Chaos Emeralds. And our best chance of doing that is to get the guy who's been studying them for almost twelve years."

"The robian hedgehog," Sonic said.

"Yes. That means we're going back to Robotropolis."


	8. Fighting For

Chapter 8: Fighting for...

It was going to be some time before the Freedom Fighters went back into Robotropolis. Too much had happened in the past few days, and the FF needed some well deserved rest. And in any case, it was going to take a lot of planning to infiltrate Robotropolis again. Security was surely being tightened after Robotnik had lost not one, but two Chaos Emeralds to the Freedom Fighters. Then there was the matter of the robian hedgehog. They would need to find where he was being held, or if he was even still alive. Getting that intel would prove extremely difficult. In other words, the FF had some downtime, and they intended to use it.

Sonic decided to take a better look around Knothole. It occurred to him that ever since he had been there, he never really got a full tour of the place. He was either on a mission, or doing something involving the Chaos Emeralds and Power Rings. It was nice to finally get a chance to look around the place he'd be staying for the foreseeable future. First, he would head over to Rotor's place and see if he's made any breakthroughs with the Chaos Emeralds. Perhaps he was grasping at straws, but Sonic was somewhat desperate to find out how on Mobius he missed twelve years without aging, and maybe why his fur had turned blue. He wasn't sure that the Emeralds were even responsible, but it was worth investigating.

As usual, navigating Rotor's workshop without tripping on something was a bit of a challenge. To the untrained eye, it would look disorganized, but to Rotor, everything was in it's proper place. Always seemed to know exactly where everything was despite the organization, if one could call it that, made very little sense. But, if it worked for Rotor, no one was going to say anything about it.

As was to be expected, Rotor was thoroughly invested in his study of the Chaos Emeralds. True he didn't have nearly the amount of intel on them that the robian hedgehog would have, he intended to find out as much as he could beforehand. Plus, it was entirely possible that the robian was no longer alive. It wouldn't be that surprising, with Robotnik being the way he was. Sonic gave a tap on the walrus's shoulder to snap him out of his work.

"Ah, Sonic. I assume you're here about the Emeralds?" Rotor said.

"Yup. Find anything?" Sonic asked?

"Actually yes. First off, I found a way to completely shield the energy signature and remove any chance that they could be tracked. Second of all, it would seem that the Emeralds react to each other."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they glow more intensely when they're closer together."

"So?"

"So, I might be able to turn this reaction into a way to track other emeralds."

"You think you can do that? I mean, Robotnik had the Emerald for years, why couldn't he figure that out?

"As far as we know, Robotnik has never had two of these Emeralds at the same time. Therefor, we can assume that he hasn't observed their attraction to each other. It's also possible that the robian you encountered was deliberately attempting to stall Robotnik's study of the Emeralds."

"Why would he do that? Aren't robians mindless slaves?"

"When someone is roboticized, their wills and minds are suppressed, not erased. The Emeralds have unique effects on electronics, it's possible that it released the robian's mind."

"He certainly seemed more... there than other robians."

"Of course it's just a theory. It could be that Robotnik released the robian's mind so that he could study the Emerald for him while he was doing his dictator thing. In any case, finding the robian would at least help prove or disprove my hypothesis."

"Right. Let me know if you find anything else."

"Can do. I'm not a very good fighter, but I've still got something to offer. We have to take Robotnik down. With him in control, we'll never move forward."

Not much, but more than when they started out, and certainly more than Robotnik had learned in all the twelve years he had the Emerald in his possession. Still, it was going to take more than a couple of gems to win the war. Sure it seemed that they were going to be able to track them, but they still had no idea as to what to do with them. The Emeralds were still steeped in mystery. The Freedom Fighters needed more than bobbles if they wanted to bring Robotnik down.

Leaving Rotor's workshop, Sonic went over to Tails' place. The young fox had been kind enough to let Sonic stay there until his own place was set up. When he got to the hut, Tails wasn't inside. He heard noises coming from a shed nearby. After all the time Sonic had spent there, he hadn't even noticed it. Probably due to the fact that practically the whole time the hedgehog had been in Knothole, he'd been on some kind of mission. He went inside, finding the fox working on something that really caught Sonic's eye. It was a bright red, partially built biplane. The name _Tornado _was stenciled across its tail section. Tails was in the middle of working on the front section, fixing the propeller in place.

"That's a fine lookin' machine you got there, Tails," Sonic said.

"Huh?" Tails said. "Oh, yeah. I found it in a garbage heap. Bunnie helped me get back here, and I've been fixing it up ever since."

"Nice. You know how to fly?"

"You're talking to a guy who figured out out to fly with his freakish twin tails, so I'm pretty sure I could figure it out," Tails joked.

"Heh, you're probably right," Sonic chuckled. "I take it you like flying."

"Yup. I watched birds in the forest when I was growing up. I don't know why, but I just wanted to fly like them. One day, I fell from one of the tree houses. I tried flapping my arms, but of course nothing happened. Just before I hit ground, it was like instinct. My Tails started spinning and I slowed down enough to land safely. I worked at it, and eventually I was flying."

"Well it's a pretty cool trick. It's gonna come in handy when the fight really picks up."

"Yeah. It's gonna get worse before it gets better. But we have to keep fighting. This is the only place I fit in."

"I'll let you get back to work. We're gonna have to take that puppy out for a spin when it's done."

"Definitely."

_That kid's got some real talent, _Sonic thought as he left. He decided go have a chat with Bunnie. He hadn't really gotten a chance to get acquainted with the other Freedom fighters since his arrival. Too busy. He needed some perspective from the people that have been fighting this war since it started. Not that he needed any more motivation than he already had. In the short time he had been there, Sonic had seen enough horrors to last a lifetime. He just needed to know what they were fighting for. He knew that they all wanted freedom, but he also knew that alone wasn't all that motivated them. They had all been fighting this war for a long time. Sonic just got hurled into it. He needed to know what _he _was fighting for.

Sonic made his way over to Bunnie's hut. The half robot rabbit was outside tending the small garden she had out back. She heard Sonic coming and turned to greet him.

"Hey, Sugah. Hows it goin'?" She greeted.

"Pretty good. Nice to finally get some R&R," He replied.

"Ain't that the truth. Did ya want somethin'?"

"I've just been looking around. Getting' to know people. Haven't really had the time for that since I got here."

"Yeah. It's just been one big rollah costah ride since ya showed up. Ah guess, you wanna ask the obvious question about mah, situation."

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Well, about a year back, ah was livin' a pretty normal life with mah Uncle Beauregard. Well, as normal as a life can be nowadays. Anyway, ah was just mindin' mah own, tendin' the ol' garden, when a bunch a SWATbots came stompin' in and snatched up Uncle. They found out that he'd been supporting the resistance. Ah tried to stop 'em, but that didn't really work. I wound up gettin' caught and dragged down ta Robotropolis then thrown into roboticizer. It was the single most horrible feeling in my entire life. Ah thank mah lucky stars that the Freedom Fighters showed and busted me outta theah. But not before Ah got these robo limbs."

"Man."

"Yeah."

"Well, when I was in Robotropolis, I gave Robotnik a taste of his own medicine."

"What?"

"Got his left arm jammed in the Roboticizer."

"Dang..."

"Yeah."

"You ask me, that's better than he deserves. After everything he's done, Ah can't imagine ol' oil breath is gonna have an easy sentence."

"You just want to have him arrested?"

"If we just take him out, well ah reckon that don't make us any better than he is. See Uncle Beauregard always said that revenge is like a two headed rattle snake. Sure yer enemy gets bit, but so do you. We have ta fight for justice, not vengeance."

"I see. That makes sense. Your head's in a good place, Bunnie."

"Well thanks, Sugah. World's got enough negativity in it. No point bein' part o' the problem."

"I'll keep that in mind. Hey, where's Frenchie? I need to get a few things straightened out with him."

"Right. He should be up in Freedom HQ. Don't do nothin' rash now, Sugah."

"Thanks. Don't worry, I'm not lookin' to give the guy a reason to get me kicked out."

With that, Sonic headed off for Freedom HQ. Ever since he first arrived, Antoine had been on his case. He knew that if they were going to work together, they were going to have to clear the air. He hoped that the princess wasn't there to see the little pow wow he was going to have with the coyote. Anyone else in this position would be annoyed at Antoine's persistence, but in Sonic's case, his suspicions were somewhat justified. Sonic had come out of nowhere, becoming like a deus ex machina solution to the war. He could understand why Antoine didn't trust him. Sonic certainly didn't intend to tell him the truth. If he did, then Antoine might just think he's crazy, which would created a whole different problem.

Taking the lift up, he thought about how he was going to get Antoine to get off his case. It certainly wasn't going to be easy. The coyote had some serious commitment. It wasn't long before the lift reached the headquarters built into the huge tree. Sure enough, Antoine was there. Sonic went inside, unnoticed by Antoine. He moved quietly behind him, and suddenly spoke loudly.

"Hey, Ant!"

"Ack! Sacrè bleu!" Antoine yelled.

"Yup, I'm blue alright," Sonic chuckled.

"What do you want, 'edgehog?"

"Just wanna know what you're deal with me is. You've been on my case since I got here."

"Zat is seemple, 'edgehog. I do not trust you."

"Clearly. But why not? I've done nothing but help you guys, and you can believe I hate Robotnik, so what's the deal?"

"You pop up out of nowhere, offairing aid. Where were you a decade ago? Where were you when Robotneek was keeling and roboticizeeng ze people of Mobius! What is more, you are 'aving made a bad influence on ze preencess."

"What...?"

"She is reesking herself by going eento ze field, when she should be here where eet eez safe."

"So you just wanna keep her couped up here?"

"She eez to eemportant to lose to Robotneek!"

"Look, Antoine, I've been away for the last twelve years. I know, I should have done more to help, but I couldn't. Aurora knows I wanted to. And if you're worried about Sally, you really shouldn't be. She's tough, and a determined leader. I swear, I'll make sure she's safe."

"Zat... eez my duty, Sonic. My father was a royal guard, charged weeth protecteeng ze preencess, a charge zat I inherited. Father was captured, and zen roboticizced."

"I'm sorry..."

"No, I am. I know zat none of zis was your fault. Sally would 'ave started going on missions regardless of you being here. I just want to make father proud."

"Trust me, I think you've got that covered, Tony."

"Eef I could only be sure of zat. Ze preencess, you 'ave 'ad a noticeable effect on her."

"Yeah, you mentioned that."

"No no, she has taken a likeeng to you. You 'ave, given her hope zat we can win zis war. Eef you are talking to ze other Freedom Fighters, you may as well go speak weeth her. I believe she eez at ze power reeng grotto."

"Thanks. I'll go talk to her."

Sonic left, thinking this had gone well. He was also wondering what Sally was doing at the grotto. They figured that the machine produces a ring every twelve hours, and it was about time for it to spit out a new one, but they usually had a man posted to collect the rings. She must have decided to retrieve this one herself. It took Sonic a few minutes to get to the grotto. He actually decided to walk to there instead of running. This was a day to relax before leaping headlong into the fire. Rushing through the forest wasn't a good way to spend this brief reprieve.

Sonic soon came up to the power ring grotto. Sally was sitting at the edge of the spring, the water splashing lightly against her feet. She was holding something: a fresh power ring. She sat there, quietly staring at the ring. She had a somewhat somber look about her. There was obviously something on her mind. Sonic walked up and sat next to her.

"Hey, Sal," Sonic greeted.

"Oh, hey Sonic," she replied.

"So, there something on your mind?"

"Yes. I was just wondering how you do it."

"Do what?"

"How you stay optimistic in all of this. How you're able to use these rings. Just stuff."

"Well, I don't really know about the ring thing, but staying optimistic is all I can do to keep sane."

"Right," she chuckled.

"Heh, now there's a smile. You should do it more often."

"If only I had more opportunity to. Not a lot to smile about these days."

"I've noticed."

"Sonic. I really appreciate all the help you've given us. I almost thought, that we didn't really have a chance of defeating Robotnik. Then you show up, and all these things just started falling into our lap. The Chaos Emeralds and these power rings. You, well... you've given me hope."

"I"m glad I could help, but we're not out of the woods yet, literally and figuratively. We've gotta keep fighting."

"Yes. I remember the day Robotnik staged his coupe. People were running, buildings were crumbling, and my father had already been thrown into the Zone of Silence. It was like a prison for the most dangerous of criminals. Anyway, I managed to get away, but I got lost in the crowd. I can't remember exactly what happened, but I was saved from getting crushed by rubble by a brown hedgehog."

Sonic blinked. He knew what she was talking about. He remembered that day all too well. Where it had been twelve years for Sally, it had somehow only been a few weeks for Sonic. Her story began to remind him of his failure to stop Robotnik, and the seemingly impossible event that sent the hedgehog more than a decade into the future. A dystopian, almost apocalyptic future he had a hand in creating with his failure. A future that _she _had to grow up in.

"He told me to keep moving and not to look back. I did, of course, and the last I saw of him was his back, rushing toward the source of the destruction, towards Robotnik. I never knew who he was, or even what his name was. All I know, is that I never saw him again, and that because of him, I'm alive today. He made me realize, that one person can make a difference. You've just reminded me of that."

Sonic was taken by surprise when Sally leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Stunned... he reached up and touched the spot she had kissed.

"Sally..." He managed to get out.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... It's just, you've given us a sign that we have chance to win this war, and I..."

Sally had began to fiddle with the ring in her hands. This was the first time Sonic had seen her lose composure. Sonic placed his hands over hers, steadying them. He looked into her eyes, and she looked into his. At that moment, there was a connection. They weren't quite sure what it was, but it was there, and it couldn't be ignored. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that Sally finally said something.

"What... what are we doing?" Sally asked.

"Well, it kinda looks like we were about to kiss,,," Sonic replied.

"Heh, what a thought. I mean, we haven't known each other very long..."

"And we don't really have all that much in common..."

"I'm a princess..."

"I'm a stranger with freakish powers..."

"Yeah, how could a princess fall for such a daring and selfless hedgehog?"

"And how could a commoner ever hope to have a chance with a princess?"

"I just don't know."

"Neither do I."

There were no more words after that. They leaned in close to each other. Their lips brushed together before pressing into a soft kiss. It lasted for only a second before the parted, but it seemed like an eternity to them. When they parted, they looked away to hide the blush appearing on both their faces. Untangling their hands, they chuckled nervously.

"Heh, well, that was kinda..." Sonic started.

"Weird?" Sally finished.

"Yeah."

"Let's... uh... keep this to ourselves, okay? Just until we figure... this, out."

"Of course. I mean, I just got Ant ta trust me."

"Heh, wow. Now I'm impressed."

Sonic got up and held out his hand to Sally

"C'mon, Sal," he said. "We'd better get back."

Sally took his hand and allowed him to pull her up.

"Yeah, we probably should."

The two walked back to the village. They knew there was something between them, but they just really couldn't explain it. They would just have to shelve it until they figured it out.

There was one thing Sonic figured out though. He knew that the FF were all fighting for something more than just freedom. Whether it was for duty, justice, hope, they all fought for something personal. As for Sonic, he figured out what we was fighting for.

He was fighting for her.


	9. The Badniks

Chapter 9: The Badniks

It was early. Really early. Just before the sun was due to rise. The smell of dew still fresh in the air. Almost everybody in the village was still sound asleep. Almost. Sonic had woken up early, partially due to the upcoming mission to Robotropolis, but mostly because of what happened between him and Sally just a few hours prior. He kissed the princess. This had Sonic in a bit of a moral quandary. For one, she was the commanding officer of the resistance, and secondly, he still couldn't shake the fact that to him, she was a five year old girl only a few weeks ago. It wasn't like he got sent hundreds of years into the future and everyone he ever knew was gone, he'd only gone forward a dozen years. Everyone he knew was probably still alive, just twelve years older. That prospect was, in a way, worse than everyone being gone. Even though Sonic had been sheltered by his uncle for most of this life, he did manage to make a few friends. He could only imagine how awkward it would be to meet them again, if they weren't roboticized, that is. Thinking about it only made him again wonder what had become of his uncle.

A few hours later, the village's resident artificial intelligence, NICOLE, called the Freedom Fighters to HQ, at the request of Rotor. Sonic figured that he must have made a breakthrough with the Emeralds. Sonic made his way over the lift and waited for the others to get there before taking it up. Once up, they sat around the table in the briefing room. Rotor was already there, with some kind of device that he presumably had built. Sonic and Sally sat next to each other, both giving an awkward glance before focusing their attention on Rotor, and the device on the table, which was accompanied by the green Chaos Emerald. Seeing this, Sonic got an idea of what Rotor wanted to talk about, but he wasn't about to spoil it for the others.

The walrus inventor cleared his throat and began to speak. "Well, as you all know, we've been coming across these Chaos Emeralds, but we don't really know anything about them, just that they're ridiculously powerful and that we can't let Robotnik get his hands on them. So, I've devised a way to track them."

"Seriously?" Sally said.

"Seriously," Rotor replied. "After studying the Emeralds, I discovered a unique harmonic that intensifies when they get closer together. After discovering this, it was simple for me amplify this signal to create a kind of radar."

"This is great! We'll be able to find more Emeralds."

"If zhere are anymore," Antoine said.

"It would be a good guess that there are," Rotor said. "There are a couple drawbacks to the radar, however."

"What kind of drawbacks?" Sally questioned.

"Well, for one, I had to keep the range of the radar down to about fifty meters to ensure there isn't a chance that Robotnik will pick up the signal. Secondly, it needs a Emerald to work. That means at this point, we can only have two radars."

"Fifty meters is not much to work with," Sally said.

"I thought about that. I believe the solution would be to have something off site. That way, we can boost the signal while not giving away the Knothole's location. Perhaps a large vehicle."

"Sounds like a plan. We should be able to get parts we need from the scrapyard."

"My thoughts exactly. We'll need someone to make a trip out there."

"I'll go!" Tails said, throwing his hand into the air.

"Not by yourself you're not," Sally objected. "Sonic will go with you, and you'll take a Power Ring as well."

"No problembo, Sal," Sonic said.

"If you're going out there, take the Emerald Radar. You never know when and where one might pop up. They wouldn't be called Chaos Emeralds if they were predictable."

"Right."

"Both of you be careful. A lot of Robotnik's old junkers are still active in the scrapyard."

* * *

After gathering some equipment, Sonic and Tails set out for the scrapyard in the Cyclone. Sonic let Tails do the driving, since he didn't really know how to. Being able to run and breakneck speeds he never really needed to learn. It certainly saved on gas.

Honestly, Sonic didn't really like the sound of the scrapyard. It soundly like Robotnik's personal reject pile. If Scratch and Grounder were crazy, what could be said of the old junkers that most of which were probably malfunctioning. But then again, if he could handle SWATbots and S5, he could handle a few busted robots. Still, it seemed the scrapyard wasn't a very nice place.

Sonic fiddled with the Emerald, careful to keep it out of sight. It's green glow was captivating, and conveyed a very powerful feeling. Of course it did. It was potentially the most powerful thing on Mobius, and it could fit in the palm of his hand. Sonic wondered what would happen if he was able to tap into the Emeralds' power like he did the Power Rings that they helped create: Would he be able to handle it, or would the power be overwhelming. He figured it didn't really matter, as long as they kept them away from Robotnik. If that psychopath managed to use their power, then it would be all over.

One thing Sonic couldn't shake was an odd sense of familiarity that he felt with the Emeralds, and with the Power Rings. He was certain that he had never encountered them before, but he was only surprised by them briefly. After that, they seemed to just be part of a routine, which wasn't the case, since they've only had the Emeralds and Rings for less than a week.

Putting these thoughts to the back of his mind, Sonic prepared for the task at hand. Tails pulled up to the edge of the Scrapyard. It wasn't pretty, to say the least. It was, well, it was a scrap heap. It was still something to behold. There were piles of metal the size of a ten story building. Twelve years is a long time for scrap to build up. Sonic thanked Aurora that there wasn't much smell to it besides rusty metal and oil. Finding what they needed in this mess was going to be tricky. Sonic went up to the barbwire fence that cut the Scrapyard off from the rest of the land. Hung on it was a piece of scrap metal with the words "Badniks Only" crudely written across it.

"Badniks?" Sonic asked with a bit of a chuckle.

"That's what Robotniks old junkers call themselves," Tails Replied. "They're a little cracked in the processors."

"So I here. Anything we have to worry about?"

"Not really. Most of the Badniks are special robot models Robotnik tried, but they weren't really that effective, so they end up here. Though, a few of them were smart enough to upgrade themselves, but it's nothing we can't handle."

"Yeah, I guess the hard part's gonna be finding the stuff we need in this mess."

"Yup, but it helps to know what you're looking for," Tails said as he handed Sonic a hand held computer. "This'll show you the parts we need."

"Right. Okay, let's get in there." With that, Sonic crouched and leaped over the fence, followed by Tails who flew over.

Sonic took Rotor's radar out of his pack and placed the Chaos Emerald into the slot at the top of the device. That was just about all he could manage to do. Sonic never really was handy with tech stuff. Tails took the radar and punched a few buttons on the front of it. When he was finished, the radar began making a steady beeping noise.

"Alright, if there is an Emerald here, it'll show up on the radar. It's only got a range of 50 meters, though, and the Scrapyard is about 5 square miles."

"5 miles? Man, the guy likes to throw stuff out," Sonic said.

"A lot of the scrap came from Mobotropolis. Twelve years of dumping made the Scrapyard huge."

"I'll take the radar and search the Scrapyard. But, if there was an Emerald here, Robotnik probably would have found it."

"Doesn't hurt to check. I'll go and get the parts we need for the long range radar."

"Okay, watch yourself. You run into trouble, holler."

"Got it."

* * *

A few minutes went by and so far, nothing showed up on the radar. Sonic didn't expect much. Just because they had a way to track the Emeralds didn't mean they would just fall into their laps. Of course, one might change their position when it does. Sonic spotted a blip at the edge of the radar, and it was moving. Someone, or something had found the Emerald. It must have been the Badniks. Without further thought, Sonic took off toward the signal's source. Sonic figured that it wouldn't take too long to catch up with the signal, and that who or whatever had the Emerald wouldn't be much trouble. After all, these Badniks were Robotnik's rejects. If Sonic could take on those hulking SWATbots, he figured he could take them.

That was until he spotted a familiar pair nincombots: Scratch and Grounder.

Robotnik must not have been happy that they had failed to eliminate Sonic, and in the processes lose another Emerald. Although, there was another possibility, one that wasn't very pleasant. It could be that Robotnik sent them to find the Emerald, or to rally the Badniks. Either way, their presence complicated things. They were dangerous enough without a squad of deranged robots backing them up. And what about the Emerald? Sonic knew that they mess with electronics; what would they do to robots? In any case, he couldn't let the S5 Squad get their mitts on the Emerald. So, he did what he usually did: he improvised.

The hedgehog took off towards the two robians, grabbing a small hunk of metal as he moved in. He wound up ready to launch the makeshift projectile at Grounder's head. His arm was half way through the throwing motion, when he felt something move into the path of his feet. Unable to avoid it, Sonic tripped and skidded across the ground. While Sonic has had worse falls, he was disoriented by the trip. It took a few seconds for him to get his bearings and try to find what had tripped him. Almost as soon as he was upright, what looked like a metallic centipede lashed out at him, just missing the hedgehog.

"Ha ha ha haaa!" Scratch cackled. "Meet our pal, Caterkiller!"

"Yeah! He's a real cut up!" Grounder cut in.

"And he's not the only one we brought to the party!"

The sound of a motor and a rocket engine could be heard closing in. Sonic jumped out of the way of what looked like with a wheel in it's underside. "Unable to slow down, it careened into a pile of scrap metal. Sonic had no time to gloat, as a metallic wasp swooped in and began firing lasers from its stringer, missing badly. They may be viscous, but they were seriously lacking in the brains department. Still, sooner or later. One of these screwballs was going to score a lucky hit. Sonic had to end this quickly, and that meant it was time to use the Power Ring.

Without a second though, Sonic reached for the Ring in his pack. However, when he pulled it out, it was snatched from his hands by something. Sonic spun around to see a robotic monkey holding the Ring. He seemed even less sane than Scratch and Grounder, dancing around like a wild animal, cackling insanely while waving the Ring around like a toy.

"Ha! Got your shiny!" the monkey screeched

"Uh uh! Yer not pullin' that trick again!" Scratch said.

"Yeah! And we're gonna bring it AND the Emerald back to Robotnik, and he's gonna promote us!" Grounder followed.

"Hey! What about me?" questioned the monkey bot.

"Yeah yeah, you'll get your reward, Coconuts," Scratch said, rolling his optics.

This wasn't good. Sure, Sonic was surrounded, but he didn't even want to think about what Robotnik could learn from the Power Ring. He had to take these guys out and get the Ring back, and for that, he was going to need back up. Sonic launched forward, knocking over Motobug and Caterkiller. The hedgehog manages to pull out his radio, just for it to get blasted by a lucky shot from Buzzbomber. Sonic was going to have to do some quick thinking to get out of this jam. What else was new?

* * *

Even through all the junk, Tails could find exactly what he needed. He'd always been good with machines. He only got better after spending time with Rotor. Tails was mostly responsible for maintaining the Freedom Fighter's vehicles. He'd become so talented with vehicles that he decided to start building a a whole plain from scratch. Ever since Tails was young, he had been fascinated with flight, especially after discovering his own method of achieving it. So naturally, the young fox felt right at home in the scrap yard.

Tails had found all the parts for the Chaos Emerald scanner, as well as a few parts for his little side project. He was about to radio Sonic to head back, but was distracted by the sound of a laser fire and explosions. Sonic had run into the Badniks. It really shouldn't have surprised him, Sonic seemed to be somewhat of a trouble magnet. After hiding the parts, Tails took off toward the source of the disturbance.

It didn't take long before the fox found Sonic. He was right about the Badniks. Several different models were chasing after the hedgehog. Tails was about to dive in and lend him a hand, when he caught sight of something that made his gut wrench: Scratch and Grounder. This simple grocery run was really starting to go sour. Those two were bad news, even when they weren't in charge of a bunch of crazed robots. What's more, one of them seemed to have gotten his hands on Sonic's Power Ring. This was getting better every minute.

Tails managed to catch up to Sonic, who was having a difficult time weaving between the piles of scrap, even more so than in Furville. The lopsided heaps of metal and miscellaneous junk littering the ground saw to that. Sonic wasn't exactly at the top of his game in such surroundings, but he was still able to keep ahead of the Badniks and S5, enough of a lead to come up with a plan to get the Ring back from Coconuts.

"Sonic! What's going on?" Tails yelled to him.

"Tails! Good timing. There's an Emerald here, but the Power Ring got snatched by those malfunctioning rust buckets!" Sonic replied.

"Not good!"

"No kiddin'. C'mon, let's get that Ring from that manic monkey!"

"Alright!" With that, The two of them darted off towards the Badniks. Tails couldn't help but chuckle. Sonic was always rushing headlong into trouble. Trouble keeps him running faster.

The Badniks were more than a little disoriented when Sonic came at them full tilt. They were only just able to evade the hedgehog, and even then, Motobug and Caterkiller wound up crashing into scrap heaps. Buzzbomber tried to train in on Sonic, but was knocked out of the air by a swift kick to the head from Tails. With them down, Sonic focused his sights on Coconuts. The monkey bot was tagging along with Scratch and Grounder, who just seemed annoyed at his presence. He couldn't really blame them; Coconuts was nuts. Sonic and Tail took their chance. Tails grabbed a large tarp from a nearby pile of junk and ran towards S5, dropping the tarp over them, blinding them. The two robians thrashed around, only succeeding in tangling themselves up even more. With them distracted, Sonic had a clear shot at Coconuts, and the Ring.

"Hehehe..." Coconuts chuckled nervously. "You can have it!" The monkey bot dropped the ring and ran for the hills.

"Heh, well that was easy," Sonic chuckled as he picked the Power Ring off the ground. He then turned his attention to the S5 Squad, who were just freeing themselves from the tarp. "Nap time, boys."

"Ah nuts," Scratch and Grounder said simultaneously. The hedgehog energized himself with the Power Ring he now had, and with a single attack, knocked the robians into pieces.

"That's startin' ta get fun," Sonic said as the dismembered Scratch and Grounder bickered. "C'mon, time to find us another emerald."

"Right!" Tails said, tagging along behind Sonic.

* * *

The duo made their way through the Scrapyard as they followed the Emerald's signal. It was still moving, so that meant that someone or something had it. However, it didn't seem to be in any rush to get out of the Scrapyard. In fact, it wasn't even really heading toward the edges at all. Whoever had it seemed to be roaming around in the middle of it. No, roaming wasn't quite right. It was more like...pacing. It was likely that a Badnik had gotten its hands on the Emerald. They needed to be careful. Sonic had already used the Power Ring to take down Scratch and Grounder, and for they knew, some huge, half crazed murder bot had the Emerald. Hopefully, the aforementioned pacing indicated otherwise.

It wasn't long before Sonic and Tails closed in on the Emerald. It was literally over the next junk pile. It was deathly silent. Nothing but the wind wafting the smell of the Scrapyard onto them, whistling between the towers of discarded metal. Sonic and Tails stayed quite, making sure not to tip off who or whatever waited for them beyond the junk pile. Sonic held up a hand, counting up with his fingers to signal Tails to get ready to move. One... two...

"Three!" Sonic exclaimed. The two mobians leaped from behind junk pile ready for combat. However, what they saw shocked them too much for them to move. They weren't afraid of what they saw. In fact, it came as something of a relief. What, or rather, who, stood in front of them had just made the Freedom Fighters' planned mission into Robotropolis unnecessary. It was the robian hedgehog, the one that gave Sonic the first Emerald. Stopped in his tracks and looked toward Sonic and Tails, turning a big blue gemstone about in his hand. There was a silence. Neither Sonic nor Tails could believe what was happening. After a few moments, the silence was broken by the robian.

"Well, Sonny, what took you so long?"

If there was ever a moment when Sonic had ever completely stopped moving, it would be now. For at that moment, Sonic had finally realized why this robian was so familiar to him. He felt ashamed that it had taken him this long to connect the dots. The man before him was none other than Sir Charles Hedgehog.

It was Uncle Chuck.


	10. Connections

Chapter 10: Connections

"You were planning to infiltrate Robotropolis?" Chuck practically yelled. The Freedom fighters just sat there looking like they just got scolded by dad. Even as a robot, Chuck had a special talent of making someone realize that they were doing something incredibly stupid. Of course, they knew that the planned mission to Robotropolis was dangerous, but they needed to get to the robian that had studied the Chaos Emeralds for nearly twelve years, not just for themselves, but to ensure that Robotnik didn't have access to his knowledge. Robotnik was already in control of the planet, but if he had the power of the Emeralds, he could destroy it.

However, that didn't stop Chuck from scolding them. Sonic was just glad to see him again. He was also glad that Chuck seemed to catch on to the secret that the speedster was keeping from the FF.

"We needed your knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds, Sir Charles," Sally finally said. "And besides it's not like we haven't infiltrated Robotropolis before."

"I am aware of that. I'm not saying that your Freedom Fighters aren't capable, but currently an infiltration of Robotropolis would be unwise. Robotnik has stepped up security, the tightest it has ever been. It seems that the 'Supreme Dictator of Mobius' has become somewhat paranoid."

"Well, guess that means we're getting to him."

"Actually, Robotnik seems to be more focused on Sonic. In fact, he's become somewhat obsessed. His behavior has become erratic, and is beginning to use methods that aren't typical of him."

"How 'ave you become familiar weeth Robotneek's behavior?" Antoine questioned skeptically.

"I have been inside Robotropolis' walls for twelve years, Mr. D'Coolette. I've had time to study Robotnik. He believes Sonic to be a genuine threat to his empire."

"If Robotnik's afraid of Sonic, isn't that a good thing?" Tails asked.

"Not exactly. You saw what lengths he was willing to go to in order to get an edge over you all. If anything, he's more dangerous than ever."

That was disconcerting. Robotnik was bad enough without him being paranoid. Of course, the FF always knew that it was going to get worse before it got better. Despite what Chuck had said, however, the fact that Robotnik is afraid is a good sign. If he can be hurt, then he can be beaten.

It didn't stop the FF from visibly shuddering at the idea of Robotnik being more dangerous than he already was. As it is, he successfully conquered an entire planet. Add obsession and paranoia to the that, the fight was going to get a lot harder.

Sally decided change the subject to the reason they wanted risk a trip in Robotropolis in the first place: Chuck's knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds. The metallic hedgehog stroked his chin and gathered his thoughts.

"Yes, mysterious things, the Emeralds. I doubt there is anyone on the planet that knows all they're secrets. But I can share what I know," Chuck said.

"I guess the big question is how can we use their power?" Sally asked.

"That is the question of the day. Chaos energy in its raw form has pronounced effects on machinery. Specifically it overloads most mechanisms they're used to power."

"What about you? You spent twelve years right next to the thing, how haven't you been affected?"

"I have. Chaos energy seems to have a more positive effect on robians, given that they are converted mobians. Theoretically, we could use the Emeralds to free the robians of Robotnik's programming. It would be the first step of de-roboicization."

"Now hold on, you think you can make the robians normal again?" Bunnie asked excitedly.

"Yes. It shouldn't be too difficult. Not since... not since I am the one who designed the original roboticizer."

Silence. There was nothing to say. Nothing that could be muttered in polite conversation, anyway. This was something that could seriously hurt his chances of being trusted by the Freedom Fighters. Even though he had valuable knowledge about the Chaos Emerlads, the Power Rings, and Robotink himself. Even though he went through an arduous session of scans and bug searches

"I designed it, as a means of applying medical prosthesis without the need of risky surgery. It was never meant to convert an entire person, there were failsafes for that. But... Robotnik... he began his coup by breaking into my lab and stealing my inventions... and that," Chuck pointed at the blue Emerald as he finished."

"The, Emerald?" Sally spoke, trying to move on from what Chuck had just said. "He knew about them before?"

"Quite frankly, no. Neither of us knew what we had. And yes, we used to collaborate before the war. I found this Emerald in a shrine near Mobotropolis. At first I thought it was simply a large gemstone. But I soon discovered that it could be used as a power source. I was at a dead end with another project: an artifical Power Stone. The same stone in the Grotto."

"The stone stores and converts energy into a more stable form. It could have made alternative energy sources more viable. Any kind of power would be converted into a stable, yet powerful energy. However, my prototype required a lot of power to sustain a charge. I was about to give up, when I accidentally let the mysterious gemstone bump into it. With a single touch, it fully charged the Power Stone."

"So where do the Rings come in?" Sally asked.

"The Power Rings, as you call them, were a byproduct the chaos charged Power Stone. It seems that the stone can't actually handle a charge from a Chaos Emerald, so it randomly spits out relatively small amounts of Chaos energy. I found a way to control the releases, and form it into a portable shape."

"Of course, I was never able to figure out a use for them. Though it seems that you have."

This is true. Sonic was able to use the Power Rings. Seems logical that he could access the Emeralds' power as well. But, if the thing that created the Rings couldn't handle the power, would he be able to? That was another question that needed to be answered.

"Question: Why do I get a super charge from the Rings?" Sonic asked.

"I'm not sure. It could have something to do with your unique physiology. I'll have to look into that."

"Right."

"In the meantime, there is something interesting I discovered from the Emeralds, just before Sonic and the Furville rebels came."

"And what would that be?" Sally asked.

"It would be easier to just show you. Rotor, do you have a UV light?

"I certainly do," Rotor answered as he produced a hand held UV light from his belt and handed it to Chuck.

"NICOLE, could you dim the lights please?" Sally requested.

"Of course."

The lights in Freedom HQ were dimmed to the point where the most prominent light in the room was the UV light in Chucks hand. The robotic hedgehog held the light over the blue Emerald. The Freedom Fighters leaned in over the table to get a clear view. The UV seemed to highlight the energy coming off of the Emerald. Several tendrils of blue light streamed off the gemstone. Pretty, but the FF failed to gather what significance this had. Before anyone could say anything about it, Chuck took the green Emerald and placed it next to the blue one. Aside from the familiar increased whine, the green Emerald displayed it's own tendrils of light, one of the entwining with one of the blue tendrils.

"I'm certain you've observed the Emeralds' attraction to each other. This actually confirms a theory I had that the energy streams connect to each of the other Emeralds. From this, I can firmly deduce that there are in fact, seven Chaos Emeralds."

"That means there are four more out there," Sally said.

"Three. I'm afraid... that Robotnik has discovered another Emerald."

The news keeps getting worse. Of course, it was inevitable that Robotnik would get his hands on another Emerald eventually. Again, things were going to get worse before it gets better. As far as they knew, however, Robotnik still hasn't observed the Emeralds' attraction, nor did he possess a means to properly harness the Emeralds' power. Not to mention that they had three against his one. The FF still maintained the advantage concerning the Emeralds. Although, Robotnik still had an army on his side.

Chuck's eyes were drawn to where the green and blue tendril connected, focusing the UV light over it. There seemed to be another stream coming from the connection point, flowing straight up. He then placed the red Emerald on the table. Its own streams were connected with the others, and those connections had the same stream flowing up.

"Now that's interesting," Chuck finally said.

"Could that be poin' to anothah Emerald?" Bunny inquired.

"I don't think so. If my math is right, then there are 49 points of connection between the Emeralds. Now, if all of those connections are calling out to a single object... then that object must be immensely powerful, or it is some central or important element for them," Chuck explained.

"That's a little far fetched, Charles," Sally pointed out.

"Heh, I think that you'll soon find that 'far fetched' is something that doesn't exist with these Emeralds." Chuck turned off the UV light and the lights in Freedom HQ returned to normal levels.

"In any case, I will have to do more research with the Emeralds. Have three of them will give me a chance to observe their interactions with each other," Chuck said.

"That sounds like a good idea. But I have one more question," Sally insisted.

"Yes, princess?"

"Do you... do you know what happened to my mother?"

"Yes... she escaped the coup. I'm sorry, but I don't know where she is now," Chuck replied sadly.

"That's alright. Thank you. Alright, looks like we've got some planning to do. Freedom Fighers, dismissed."

The FF stood and started to file out of HQ. Chuck went with Rotor to study the Emeralds, and Tails seemed eager to work on his plane a bit more. Sonic was about to leave when he looked back and saw Sally leaned over a computer screen. It didn't seem like she was using it, though. Sonic walked over to her and put hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Sal. You okay?" he asked, though he didn't really need to. He had been in Knothole long enough to know that Sally was upset.

Her answer wasn't a verbal one. She suddenly spun around an pulled Sonic into a tight embrace. Sonic, while a bit surprised, returned the gesture. She didn't need to say anything. One mention of her mother was enough for him to figure out what she was feeling. Relieved that she had escaped; sad that she was still missing. Sonic knew the feeling.

"I'm sorry. I just..." Sally started

"I know, Sal. I know."

"Thank you. For everything. Having you here... it makes it easier."

They stood like that for a few moments, not saying anything. Though they had resolved to put the mission first, they found that prospect to be difficult. Lick the Emeralds, they had a connection that they couldn't really explain. They no longer felt that they could simply delay this. They needed to resolve this soon, or they might wind up getting hurt.

* * *

Sonic left first, so not to draw any attention to them. The last thing their relationship needed was rumors buzzing around the village. Sonic decided that the elevator was too slow, so he just jumped from the balcony. This would seem like suicide to some, but Sonic spent much of his time breaking the barrier. A relatively short fall down at near terminal velocity wasn't that big a deal to him.

Sonic headed back toward his hut. It was a long day and he could use some rest. Before he got even half way, he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"So do you ever intend to tell them the truth, Bernie?" Chuck questioned.

"Chuck... Look, I thought it would be better not to freak anyone out with the whole 'I'm from twelve years in the past' thing, which, by the way, I'm still a little foggy on how that's possible!" Sonic almost yelled.

"I think you suspect the reason behind your being here. Especially after what I had just told you and your new friends."

"The Emeralds. You think the Emeralds caused this?"

"I think that it's more than likely. Robotnik, used the Emerald like the core of a bomb. I theorized that shattering it would release a massive amount of power, enough to cause untold destruction, far surpassing that of the old world's atom bomb."

"That missile he fired at me, it had the blue Emerald in it."

"Yes."

"But if that's what he shot at me, then Mobotropolis would have been completely wiped out, and the Emerald would be destroyed."

"I believe that you have something to do with that, sonny. I inadvertently created an artificial method of channeling the Emeralds power. But I think that you are in fact a natural conduit for chaos energy."

"What?"

"I think that you absorbed much of the Emerald's released energy, and that subsequently enacted a Chaos Control, a focused usage of Chaos energy, which propelled you to this time period. Probably responsible for your change in color as well."

"Okay, that explains me... but what about the Emerald? It should have been destroyed."

"I imagine it would actually be pretty hard to completely destroy a Chaos Emerald. Their physical form is meaningless. They are pure energy. It's not so far fetched to assume that the Emerald reformed itself after you siphoned off the excess energy. It reappeared in the scrapyard months before you arrived. I figured out a way to track the Emerald using the energy streams, making sure that Robotnik didn't catch on to it."

"So, when he found out you gave us the Emerald, you got thrown in the Scrapyard."

"Yes. I was able to find the blue Emerald and keep it away from the Badniks. Then, you found me and here we are."

"Yeah. Here we are."

It was good to finally get to talk to Chuck. All the other times they had met since Sonic arrived, the speedster had talked to Chuck as Sonic. Now, he was talking to his uncle as Bernie. It had been a while since anyone had called him that. He had almost become lost in this new persona that he had created for himself. It seemed a bit sad, but Sonic felt more real to him than Bernie ever did. Bernie was sheltered, and was always hiding. Hiding who he was. Hiding WHAT he was. Sonic never hid. He rushed into danger, fighting the good fight. Fighting for freedom. In a way, Sonic came into being even before Bernie arrived, when Robotnik staged his coup. Sonic was a little lost in thought, when Chuck asked him something that caught him off guard.

"So, you seeing the princess?"

"Ye.. wait, what? No!" Sonic sputtered.

"Come on, the two of you kept glancing over at each other the whole time I was talking. And don't think that I didn't notice that the two of you stayed up there together after everyone left."

"Look, Unc, we really don't know what we have yet. I mean, we kissed once, but..."

"She's obviously infatuated with you. It's not like it would insult her honor if you were together..."

"I saved her life, before I arrived. I guess, I feel if I were, with her, I'd be taking advantage of her, or something."

"Ah, I see. Sonic, I can tell you that she could use a friend like you. I can guarantee that there is nothing wrong with you being with her. It could do you both some good. Of course, if you retain the truth from her, you will be taking advantage of her. If you tell no one else, you should tell her."

"Yeah... yeah you're right."

"Of course I am. Now, it's been a long day, you should get some shut eye. The next few days promise to be quite eventful.

* * *

It would turn out that statement was correct. The very next day, Chuck had called a meeting in Freedom HQ. He wasn't very specific as to what it was about, but it must have been important. Obviously, he and Rotor had found something that was worth gathering the Freedom Fighters. Once the FF were gathered, Chuck wasted no time in revealing what he and Rotor had discovered.

"Well, I suppose you all are wondering why I called this meeting. Well, young Mr. Rotor and I believe we have discovered the location of what all the Emeralds seem to be calling to," Chuck said.

"Well, don't keep us waiting," Sonic said impatiently.

"Very well. As you all saw, the energy streaming from the connection points between the Emeralds were flowing straight up. It was not perfectly straight, however. After some calculations, we discovered the estimated coordinates of the object. From what we can tell, it is in the air, and it is moving."

"Well, where is it?" Sally asked insistently.

"I believe, that the object the Emeralds are calling to, is on Angel Island."


	11. Island in the Sky

Chapter 11: Island in the Sky

The FF was almost certain that Chuck had cracked. The mere mention of the mythical Angel Island came as something of a shock, especially coming from such a logical and scientific mind such as Sir Charles Hedgehog. It just didn't seem logical to them that he would even suggest what they were looking for resided on such a fairy tale.

Angel Island was something of a legend amongst the mobians. It is said that it was once inhabited by the echidnas, an ancient and advanced race that raised their homeland to avoid a great cataclysm. It was stuff of pure fantasy. The FF was sure that there had to be a logical explanation to this. Sally, for one, wasn't entirely convinced.

"You can't really think what we're looking for is on an island that isn't supposed to exist?" she questioned.

"It is the only explanation. The signal indicates that the location is moving much too slowly and erratically to be an aircraft or air-station," Chuck explained.

"But, how would anyone miss an island floating through the air?" Sally asked.

"Even with all our advancements and knowledge, people still never look up. Even when someone does spot it, it doesn't stay in one place for too long. In any case, even if it isn't the Floating Island, it doesn't change the fact that whatever the Emeralds are all calling to is in the air somewhere. That means we need flying vehicles in order to reach it."

"We have one of Robonik's hovercrafts," Rotor said. "We could modify it for longer ranges."

"Is anyone else at all skeptical about looking for an object that we don't know even exists, on an island that CAN'T exist?" Sally said skeptically.

"A month ago, you were introduced to a young man that can move faster than sound and mystical gemstones that are more powerful than any energy source on the planet. It is by no stretch of the imagination that the object those gems call out to can cause a land mass to float in the air."

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"This is something that Robotnik is fully capable of beating us to. He doesn't need an Emerald tracker to search the skies. Our fair dictator seems to be grasping at anything that would give him an advantage."

"Alright. We have a problem though," Sally said. "In order for the hovercraft to take us that high, we can only bring two people, three at most."

"I think I've got a solution for that," Tails cut in.

"You think your plane's ready?" Sonic asked?

"Definitely," the young fox said confidently. "I just need some fuel, and my plane will be sky-worthy."

"Well, if it's fuel you need, then I think Power Rings would make it run cleaner and more quietly than fossil fuels," Chuck suggested. "Unlike the Emeralds, the Rings' power is much more manageable."

"Awesome! It'll only take an hour or two for me and Rotor to rig the vehicles to run on the Power Rings."

"I'll coax a few rings out of the machine," Chuck said. "Better to be safe than sorry."

"Right. Once the vehicles are prepped, and a fix on the target is acquired, we'll decide who will go. Dismissed."

Despite what she had said, Sonic was certain that Sally was going to be going on the mission herself. This would be her first actual mission since Chuck would also have to go on the mission since he is the most knowledgeable about the Emeralds. Besides that, the FF was still skeptical about where the robotic hedgehog's loyalties lied, or that Robotnik had no way of tracking him. The less time he spent in Knothole, the better. Although Sonic was certain Chuck wouldn't betray them, he couldn't really explain his reasoning without revealing his secret.

Of course, the blue blur would have to eventually tell them. He couldn't keep lying to them, and he was fairly certain that Sally would eventually figure it out by herself. That was inevitable. Sonic wanted to tell her. He couldn't stand the thought of deceiving her, especially when their feelings for each other were becoming undeniable. Sonic knew that he had to tell her, but the question remained: when?

Their mission to the mythical Angel Island, there was going to be a lot of unknowns. They didn't know what they would find, or if Robotnik had beaten them to the Object the Emeralds all call to. This had Sonic at a bit of a dilemma. He could tell her before they embarked, but it might interfere with the mission. Logically, it would be better to tell her after the mission was over, but there was no guarantee that they would even come back.

_No… I can't think like that._

They had to make it back. They had to take back their world from Robotnik. And that meant that they had to find the other Emeralds, and the Object. Robotnik should not be allowed have any of the Emeralds, let alone something that can supposedly cause a landmass to float in the air. The kind of power Robotnik was playing with was more dangerous than even he could comprehend. In his obsession for world domination, the dictator could very well end up destroying the planet.

* * *

After a few hours, Rotor was still unable to get a solid fix on the Object based on the Emeralds' connections. It could give a direction, but not a distance. However, this gave him an idea. The walrus hurried over to the small observatory at the south edge of the village. The observatory was built into a large tree, similar to Freedom HQ. Inside there was a powerful telescope that both Rotor and Tails designed. While it could show the night sky in stunning detail, it was more useful for keeping an eye on Robotropolis. This time, however, Rotor intended to look for something a little more, mythical.

After Rotor dialed in the direction and elevation that was indicated by the Emeralds, searching the sky for something, anything, that gave them a clue as to where and what their destination was. Only a few minutes passed before he got something that was more than a clue. Much more. Without a second thought, he got on his communicator and called the rest of the Freedom Fighters. They weren't going to believe this unless they saw it for themselves.

But even after they had seen it on screen, they still couldn't believe it.

"No way…" Sally said with disbelief.

"Way, Sally," Rotor reassured. "There can be no doubt. That is the floating Angel Island."

It was true. The powerful telescope made it abundantly clear. Rotor was right. There could be no doubt. It wasn't some optical illusion, or some kind of large aircraft made by Robotnik. The bottom of the island was rocky and pointed, with no sign of any kind of propulsion It was an island floating in the air. At this distance, it was well within range. This confirmed the location of the Object. But this also revealed a rather large problem.

"Several of Robotnik's airships were spotted heading in that direction," Rotor pointed out. "Even if he wasn't looking for it, there was no way they would have missed it."

"Indeed. That means we don't have any time to waste. So, Bunnie, you're coming, the rest of you will stay here if Robotnik is just using this as a distraction."

"Ahright, boss lady," Bunnie replied.

"Tails, tell me you've got the vehicles ready to go."

"They're ready, I just need a few Power Rings," Tails said.

"I've got that covered," Chuck stated.

"Alright then. We've got a previously mythical island to get to."

Tails was quick to run the checklist to get his plane in the air. Part of him would have preferred to have done a test flight before a practical one, but a larger part wanted to put it through its paces immediately. He'd been working on this thing for almost a year. He was ready to take to the skies. It has been his dream ever since he was very young. And now, he was going to get to fly his plane to Angel Island. This was more than he could have ever dreamed.

Tails had moved the plane to a hanger he and Rotor built outside the village. He didn't want to give away Knothole's location, after all. It was a bit of a challenge moving it through the forest, but eventually the plane was moved. The hanger itself was located in a small clearing in the forest, but still had enough cover to keep it hidden from aerial surveillance. The short runway had to be built with a hydraulic launcher in order to get the Tornado airborne in the scant space they were afforded.

The young fox finished his checklist: everything was nominal. Everything was ready to go. Just as he finished up, he heard a voice calling up to him. It wasn't Sonic's or Sally's or any of the other Freedom Fighters that he knew before the Blue Blur arrived. It was Fiona, one of Geoffrey's rebel squad. Since the infiltration of Robotropolis that had given them the Chaos Emerald, their team had been inducted into the Freedom Fighters as a secondary unit. They had a particular talent for black-ops.

"Hey there," Fiona called.

"Um, hi…" Tails greeted.

"So, I hear you're going to some island that, until recently, was a myth," she quipped.

"Oh… Yeah. I could hardly believe it when I saw it. We all thought chuck had a loose wire or something."

"Heh, is this a typical outing for you guys?"

"Well, actually, all this chaos and mythical island stuff started popping up after Sonic joined us. After that, things started to get really interesting."

"Yeah, that guy seems to attract craziness. I never heard of anyone seriously getting under Robotnik's skin before. Knocking him into a roboticizer… that's hardcore. Hmph, serves him right for what he did to Valdez."

"They must really hate each other. I'll bet anything that when the final battle comes, it'll be those two fighting it."

"Yeah." Fiona noticed Sonic and Sally heading their way and decided to head off. "Well, good luck."

"Thanks."

* * *

It was almost time to go. Rotor was making some last minute calculations so that they didn't run out of fuel halfway to the island. Sonic and Sally decided head over to Tails' hut so they could be ready as soon as Rotor was finished. Part of Sonic wanted to try and convince Sally not to go on this mission, but he knew there was pretty much no way to do that. She was committed to going on missions with the rest of the Freedom Fighters. Plus, this would be her first actual mission. The last time she just rushed in after getting fed up with just sitting around. There was absolutely no way that she would pass this up.

Sonic was still thinking about how to tell her the truth. It wasn't something he could rush. How would she react to learning that he was from 12 years in the past, or that he could have stopped all of this from happening in the first place. He was afraid to lose her friendship. Sonic had very few friends before he arrived in Knothole. Having to hide what he was, he never really had the chance to make many friends, so he tried hold on to the ones he had. Sally was something special, though. The only person in the world to ever stopped him in his tracks. If Sonic was going to be honest with her, he had to be honest with himself: he wasn't seeking approval from the Freedom Fighters when he joined; he was seeking it from Sally. Everything he did for the FF, he really was just doing it for the princess. He wasn't sure why, though. But if he had to guess, it would have to be that he felt guilty about failing to stop all this in the first place. While he failed an entire planet, Sally stuck out the most. The look on her face while the city crumbled around them was burned into his brain. Sonic wouldn't fail her again.

All this new found purpose didn't help with the issue that he needed to tell her that he was from the past. Even after everything Sonic had been through, he still has never had any real experience talking to girls, at least about serious stuff like love. Bernie never passed up a chance to show off, though. It wasn't that he had a high opinion of himself, though. Being sheltered most of his life made him feel he needed to validate his existence.

One thing was for sure: he couldn't tell her just before their mission. It would have been extremely awkward and it would end up distracting them from whatever awaited them on the Island.

"You look like you've got something on your mind," Sally spoke.

"Wha?" the hedgehog snapped out of his thought. "That obvious, huh?"

"Kinda hard to miss with your brow scrunched up like that," she pointed out. "Plus you were quiet, which was a dead giveaway."

Sonic gave a sarcastic laugh. "Funny." He got quiet again, thinking about his next words very carefully. "Look, Sal. There's something I really gotta get off my chest, but now's not the right time ta do it. It's some pretty heavy stuff and I don't want getting our heads twisted for this."

Sonic looked directly into Sally's eyes, making it very clear that he was serious. "After this mission, if- when we come back, we'll talk, okay?"

Sally closed her eyes briefly, and then nodded understandingly. "Alright. But you better make sure we get back, otherwise we'll have all eternity to give each other grief about it," she joked.

"Well when you put it that way, I guess I'll have to get us back.  
Sonic chuckled. "I don't think I could stand the nagging for a few minutes, let alone eternity."

The princess gave him a playful punch in the arm. She knew Sonic had something extremely important to tell her. He didn't hide his feelings very well. Sally could be patient, however. The mission had to come first. They couldn't risk their emotions distracting them from whatever was awaiting them on Angel Island. Although, she had to admit, she was really excited about going to the mysterious floating landmass. As a child she had always her tales of Angel Island, of the legendary echidnas that dwelled there. They were said to be incredibly advanced, able to make their home fly through the air like a bird. She didn't know how many of the stories had actually been true. The revelation of the Object's involvement with the Island might explain a lot of those stories. As excited as Sally was about the mission, she was equally concerned. The Chaos Emeralds were calling to something on the Island. That notion was somewhat unsettling. What could be so significant as to attract what was understood as the most powerful objects on the planet?

"Sonic," Sally spoke. "What do you think we'll find up there?"

Sonic wondered why she was asking him. He had no more experience with the Emeralds than anyone else, aside from getting blasted into the future by one. "I don't know. The meaning of life, the universe, and everything?" Joking was all he could do to hide the concern he had about the mission. He knew that Robotnik could already be on the Island. That could complicate things a bit.

There was no use worrying about it now; they would cross that bridge when they came to it. First, they needed to get there, and that hinged on Tails' modifications, and his untested plane, held up. They had never considered using Power Rings as a fuel source. Though, it did seem kind of obvious when they thought about it. The Rings had to have had a practical purpose beyond giving Sonic a power boost. Suddenly the Freedom Fighters saw the allure that the Emeralds had over Robotnik. The very idea of virtually free energy was something many hoped to possess. But in Robotnik's hands, it would be used for all the wrong reasons. It all came back to the same, undeniable fact: They could not let Robotnik harness the power of the Emeralds. They couldn't allow him to obtain the Object either, especially if it was holding an island in the air.

Sonic waved as they walked up to Tail's hanger. Chuck was already there; he had been assisting the young fox with adapting the vehicles to run on Power Ring energy. The Rings' power was different than anything Tails was experienced with, so the robotic hedgehog's expertise was a great help. Chuck was able to coax his machine into spitting out six Rings: more than enough for the trip to and from Angel Island, as well as a couple for Sonic. Bunnie showed up soon after Sonic and Sally got to the hanger. She was carrying a rather large backpack: provisions for the mission in case they were on the Island longer than they expected. She was always one to be prepared for anything. Though lately, things had been a might unpredictable. Still, the half-robian hare would be sure to keep her senses and her wits sharp.

"Well it looks like your plane's rarin' ta go, Tails," Bunnie said.

"Yup. She's aching for her first flight."

"Are you sure you want to bring it on this mission?" Sally asked. "There's a chance she won't make it back."

"Trust me, the Tornado's up to it," Tails said confidently.

"You gotta quit worrying, Sal." Sonic nudged her in the arm. Of course, he couldn't really deny there was an element of danger in flying an untested plane with a power source that hasn't been used before. But then again, he liked danger.

"Well then cowboy up, Hon, 'cause we're movin' out," Bunnie said.

"Okay!" Tails said.

"No way I'm missing out on the first flight." Sonic wasted no time in hopping into the passenger seat.

"Alright! Clear the runway, we're taking off!" The others were quick to move out of the way. Tails' plane roared to life as the young fox hit the ignition. Sonic could almost feel the power from the Ring used as its fuel source. Nearly a year of work was about to pay off, or blow up in his face.

Fortunately it was the former. The Tornado was launched forward, screaming off the runway through the opening in the trees. The wind roared around the plane as it took to the sky. The Great Forest became smaller as the Tornado rose into the air. For Sonic, it was a strange feeling. He had never actually flown in a plane before.

"You okay back there, Sonic?" Tails yelled over the noise of the wind.

"You kiddin'? This is awesome!" Sonic yelled back excitedly.

He was used to going fast, but not to going fast while flying hundreds of feet in the air in an open seated biplane. Sonic was always looking for a rush, be it running at break neck speeds, riding Extreme Gear through traffic, or fighting thugs in back alleys. Flying was by far one of the bigger thrills he had ever experienced.

Soon, Sally, Chuck, and Bunnie were following them in the Whirlwind. The craft was indeed operating more efficiently than it normally would have. Over the years, the Freedom Fighters had improved on the design, customizing it to their needs. However it was never as efficient as their other vehicles, mostly because, as one of Robotnik's designs, it was built more for flash than efficiency. With a Ring powering it, however, the Whirlwind proved to be a very functional vehicle.

"Tails," Chuck called over the radio. "The island is currently fifty miles due north and is moving at a rate of approximately twenty-five miles per hour in a southbound direction"

"Got it." Tails replied, turning the plane to the right direction. At their current speed, they would reach the island in less than an hour. It wouldn't be long before it came into view.

* * *

It was a small thing at first: something that could have been mistaken for a bird or a trick of the mind. But it quickly grew into something that couldn't be ignored. Even after they had spotted it in the observatory, the Freedom Fighters couldn't believe that Charles could have been right. Now there was no denying it: It was the legendary Angel Island.

None of the stories ever uttered by mobian lips could have possibly done the Island justice. It was massive, to say the least. The surface was covered in thick forests surrounding a range of mountains. Ruins could also be seen among the forests and along a large clearing on one side of the landmass. If there were ever any people there, they were either long gone. Several waterfalls could be seen cascading off the island. One had to wonder where the water on the island came from if it was constantly falling off of it. Many different questions popped into the Freedom Fighters' heads while taking in the sight of this island in the sky. The answers to those questions would have to wait, however, as they were quickly approaching the Island.

Tails spotted a clearing large enough to set down. The landing was a little bumpy, but the young fox handled it well. Soon after, the Whirlwind set down. Sonic was the first to set foot on the island. It was an odd feeling. Even though they had landed, they were still hundreds of feet in the air. They would have to make a note to keep away from the Island's shores.

Chuck got out of the Whirlwind, bringing the Emerald tracker with him. There was a profound look about him, like he was the first person to walk on the moon. Who could blame him? Before he was roboticized, Charles spent much of his life studying ancient cultures. Sonic had always wondered why an inventor would be so interested in the past. Charles simply said that one must learn from history, or be doomed to repeat it. A good point.

"So, this is Angel Island, eh?" Bunnie said, stepping out of the Whirlwind. "Sure is pretty up here."

"Yes," Sally agreed. "But we don't have time to go exploring. We've got a job to do."

"Ah know Sally-girl. Just hope we can come back latah." Bunnie started to drag out some of the equipment they brought along with them. In particular they had brought some monitoring devices so that they could track Robotnik's forces on the Island. An easy task when his forces are all robots and when there's no other technology around. Sally also brought an uplink pad that acts as a pipeline to NICOLE's systems back in Freedom HQ. The artificial intelligence was able to confirm that there was Robotnik tech on the island.

"Alright then, let's go find this thing the Emeralds are callin' to," Sonic said. "Can't have Robotnik getting his hands on it."

"Especially not if it really is the thing holding this island in the air," Chuck added.

"Okay. Can we use the Emerald tracker to find it?" Sally asked.

"Yes. I modified it to do just that. However, it will only show us the direction, not the distance." Chuck placed the green Emerald into the tracker, which immediately began to indicate a direction.

"Nice." Sonic takes the tracker. "Let's do it to it"

As they set off, Sonic couldn't help but feel that there was something off. Like someone, or something, was watching them. Maybe it was just nerves. After all they were on an island that, as far as they could tell, was completely uncharted. It didn't really matter. All that mattered was stopping Robotnik from getting the Object, no matter the cost.


End file.
